2024-25 Performance Oversight Testimony: Department of Energy and Environment

Policy Attorney Makenna Osborn testified before the District of Columbia Council at the performance oversight hearing for the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). The District has been a leader in recognizing the connection between conditions in the home and a family’s health and establishing laws to remove health-harming environmental hazards from all District homes. DOEE plays a vital role in ensuring that in practice these laws meet the desired goal of effectively protecting the health of residents and promoting healthy housing throughout the District.

Our testimony reflects on how DOEE has helped protect the District’s
children from health hazards in their home in Fiscal Year 2024 and Fiscal Year 2025, to date, and identify opportunities for DOEE and the Council to further strengthen those protections, specifically as they relate to: (1) lead hazards, (2) mold hazards, and (3) continuity in utility services.