42 U.S.C. § 11901
Section 11901 · Congressional findings
This is the Drug-Free Public Housing Act of 1988
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 22 court decisions — leading case Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker (2002)
Most recently applied in Eastern Carolina Regional Housing Authority v. Lofton (August 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the Federal Government has a duty to provide public and other federally assisted low-income housing that is decent, safe, and free from illegal drugs;
(2) public and other federally assisted low-income housing in many areas suffers from rampant drug-related or violent crime;
(3) drug dealers are increasingly imposing a reign of terror on public and other federally assisted low-income housing tenants;
(4) the increase in drug-related and violent crime not only leads to murders, muggings, and other forms of violence against tenants, but also to a deterioration of the physical environment that requires substantial government expenditures;
(5) local law enforcement authorities often lack the resources to deal with the drug problem in public and other federally assisted low-income housing, particularly in light of the recent reductions in Federal aid to cities;
(6) the Federal Government should provide support for effective safety and security measures to combat drug-related and violent crime, primarily in and around public housing projects with severe crime problems;
(7) closer cooperation should be encouraged between public and assisted housing managers, local law enforcement agencies, and residents in developing and implementing anti-crime programs; and
(8) anti-crime strategies should be improved through the expansion of community-oriented policing initiatives.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1998—Par. (2). Pub. L. 105–276, §586(b)(1), inserted “or violent” after “drug-related”.
Par. (4). Pub. L. 105–276, §586(b)(2)(A), inserted “and violent” after “drug-related”.
Pars. (6) to (8). Pub. L. 105–276, §586(b)(2)(B), (3), (4), added pars. (6) to (8).
1990—Pub. L. 101–625 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “The Congress finds that—
“(1) the Federal Government has a duty to provide public housing that is decent, safe, and free from illegal drugs;
“(2) public housing projects in many areas suffer from rampant drug-related crime;
“(3) drug dealers are increasingly imposing a reign of terror on public housing tenants;
“(4) the increase in drug-related crime not only leads to murders, muggings, and other forms of violence against tenants, but also to a deterioration of the physical environment that requires substantial government expenditures; and
“(5) local law enforcement authorities often lack the resources to deal with the drug problem in public housing, particularly in light of the recent reductions in Federal aid to cities.”
Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
Amendment by title V of Pub. L. 105–276 effective and applicable beginning upon Oct. 1, 1999, except as otherwise provided, with provision that Secretary may implement amendment before such date, except to extent that such amendment provides otherwise, and with savings provision, see section 503 of Pub. L. 105–276, set out as a note under section 1437 of this title.
Short Title of 1998 Amendment
Pub. L. 105–276, title V, §586(a), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2646, provided that: “This section [enacting sections 11906 to 11908 of this title, amending this section and sections 11902, 11903, 11904, and 11905 of this title, and repealing sections 11906 to 11909 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Program Amendments of 1998’.”
Short Title of 1994 Amendment
Pub. L. 103–227, title X, §1051, Mar. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 274, provided that: “This part [part D (§§1051–1053) of title X of Pub. L. 103–227, amending section 11903a of this title] may be cited as the ‘Midnight Basketball League Training and Partnership Act’.”
Short Title
Section 5121 of Pub. L. 100–690, as amended by Pub. L. 101–625, title V, §581(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4245, provided that: “This chapter [chapter 2 (§§5121–5130) of subtitle C of title V of Pub. L. 100–690, enacting this subchapter] may be cited as the ‘Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Act of 1990’.”
Section 5141 of Pub. L. 100–690 provided that: “This chapter [chapter 3 (§§5141–5146) of subtitle C of title V of Pub. L. 100–690, enacting subchapter II of this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Drug-Free Public Housing Act of 1988’.”