Lloyd Doggett Asks HUD to Approve a Plan to Install Air Conditioning in San Antonio's Public Housing Units

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett has sent a request urging the federal government to approve a San Antonio Housing Authority project to install air conditioning in 22 public housing developments around the city.

Doggett, D-San Antonio, said SAHA's effort is fully funded but needs approval from the Department of Housing and Urban Development before crews can start work. Residents of 2,400 Alamo City public housing units, or 40 percent of the total, have no air conditioning and could face another hot summer if work doesn't begin soon.

“It is unacceptable that so many of our neighbors — even those who are elderly and disabled — are suffering in the dangerous Texas heat with no reprieve, in housing that is supposed to provide them real shelter,” Doggett said in an emailed statement.

SAHA, Texas Rep. Diego Bernal, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, the City of San Antonio and philanthropist Gordon Hartman worked jointly to secure $1.5 million in funding for the project.

Bernal, D-San Antonio, also introduced a bill in the Texas Legislature that would require all public housing units in the state be equipped with air conditioning.

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