WASHINGTON - On June 10, 2003, Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) cosponsored and introduced Senate Bill 1228 known as the "Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2003." The objective of the bill was to provide a tax credit for property owners who pay for abatement of "lead-based paint hazards."

The bill sought to encourage property owners to abate "lead-based paint hazards" within their units in an effort to end childhood lead poisoning by 2010. The bill acknowledges that, although the number of children with unsafe blood levels has declined, hazards are still present. Current federal lead-abatement program funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has sufficient resources to provide grants to address only 7,000 homes per year.

NPCA worked with Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR), DeWine, Clinton and Barack Obama (D-IL) for bipartisan sponsorship to reintroduce the legislation. On Nov. 18, 2005, it was introduced as Senate Bill 2053. The legislation, which would provide a $1,500 tax credit for property owners who pay for making a dwelling "lead-safe" or a $3,000 tax credit for "lead-based paint hazard abatement," will serve as a complement to NPCA's Model Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act being promoted in key states throughout the country.