Original Fair Housing Resolution of 2021

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 363 Promoting and supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act and recognizing April 2021 as Fair Housing Month, which includes bringing attention to the discrimination faced by everyday Americans in the United States in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, disability, and religion, particularly during the COVID–19 pandemic. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2021 Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. KELLY of Illi- nois, Mr. EVANS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. POCAN, Mr. BEYER, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. BASS, Ms. DEAN, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, and Mr. BOWMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judici- ary RESOLUTION Promoting and supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act and recognizing April 2021 as Fair Housing Month, which includes bringing attention to the discrimi- nation faced by everyday Americans in the United States in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, disability, and religion, particularly during the COVID–19 pandemic. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 363 IH Whereas April 11, 2021, marks the 53d anniversary of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, title VIII of which (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is commonly known as the Fair Housing Act; Whereas the Chicago Freedom Movement, led by the Rev- erend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., expanded the fight for civil rights from the South to the North, raised the national consciousness about housing discrimination, and shaped the debate that led to the landmark Fair Housing Act; Whereas the National Advisory Commission on Civil Dis- orders, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and commonly known as the Kerner Commission, found on February 29, 1968, that ‘‘our nation is moving toward two societies, one black and one white—separate and un- equal’’; Whereas Congress passed the Fair Housing Act as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Act into law on April 11, 1968, one week after the assassination of the Reverend Doctor Mar- tin Luther King, Jr.; Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cul- tural Rights recognize adequate housing as a human right; Whereas the original Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimina- tion in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, and religion; Whereas the mission statement of the Department of Hous- ing and Urban Development (HUD) reflects a commit- VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 363 IH ment to ‘‘build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination’’; Whereas in section 808 of the Housing and Community De- velopment Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–383), Congress amended the Fair Housing Act to include protection on the basis of sex, including gender; Whereas September 13, 2021, will mark the 33d anniversary of the congressional passage of the Fair Housing Amend- ments Act of 1988; Whereas the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 passed by overwhelming margins in Congress, included protec- tion on the basis of familial status and disability, created an important enforcement mechanism, and expanded the definition of ‘‘discriminatory housing practices’’ to in- clude interference and intimidation, requiring HUD to issue regulations to implement and interpret the Fair Housing Act and report annually to Congress on the na- ture and extent of housing discrimination; Whereas the intent of Congress in passing the Fair Housing Act was broad and inclusive, to advance equal oppor- tunity in housing and achieve racial integration for the benefit of all people in the United States; Whereas the intent of Congress in passing the Fair Housing Act was to prohibit discrimination in all housing and housing-related transactions, including policies or prac- tices that appear superficially neutral, but have a dis- criminatory effect on protected classes; Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States of America has reaffirmed the use of the disparate impact doctrine to challenge policies or practices that have a discrimina- tory effect on protected classes; VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 363 IH Whereas fair housing testing has revealed that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity ex- ists and that fair housing protections must be extended to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community; Whereas same-sex couples are 73 percent more likely to be denied a home mortgage compared to heterosexual cou- ples, and when same-sex couples are approved, they pay an average of $86,000,000 more in combined annual in- terest and fees; Whereas fair housing testing has revealed that discrimination exists against people who use public housing assistance, including support from the Housing Choice Voucher and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing programs and other legal sources of income, and that fair housing protections against source-of-income discrimination must be provided to all people; Whereas there continues to be widespread discrimination in the housing industry against Black, Latinx, and Asian- American home buyers by real estate agents; Whereas owner-occupied homes located in majority-Black communities are undervalued by a cumulative $156,000,000,000 when compared to owner-occupied homes in similarly situated communities that have very few or no Black residents; Whereas over 60 percent of people experiencing homelessness in America are Black or Latinx; Whereas an individual’s housing conditions impact his or her health, educational attainment level, employment oppor- tunities, and personal wealth; VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 363 IH Whereas borrowers of color lack equal access to quality and affordable credit compared to similarly situated White borrowers; Whereas research shows that Black and Latinx borrowers pay $765,000,000 more in combined mortgage interest each year compared to similarly situated White borrowers due to discriminatory factors in mortgage lending by the government-sponsored housing finance enterprises; Whereas research shows that algorithmic bias and discrimina- tion exist in online housing platforms and lending that use artificial intelligence for advertising and decision- making purposes, and there is an urgent need to elimi- nate individual bias that enters the development of artifi- cial intelligence systems; Whereas the majority of Americans support neighborhood in- tegration and numerous studies have shown the universal benefits of residential integration; Whereas reports indicate there are more than 4,000,000 vio- lations of fair housing laws each year against people of all protected classes, and fair housing testing continues to uncover a high rate of discrimination in the rental, sales, mortgage lending, and insurance markets; Whereas 68,000,000 adults in the United States believe they have experienced unequal treatment in their housing search due to their status as a member of a protected class under the Fair Housing Act; Whereas less than one percent of fair housing violations are reported each year; Whereas private nonprofit fair housing organizations funded by Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) serve as the front line in the effort to resolve housing discrimina- VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 363 IH tion and train local housing providers on how to comply with the Fair Housing Act; Whereas, in 2019, there were a total of 28,880 housing dis- crimination complaints reported nationwide, of which 73 percent, or 21,802 complaints, were filed with local, pri- vate, nonprofit fair housing organizations; Whereas the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) funds State as well as local civil and human rights en- forcement agencies to investigate and process housing discrimination complaints, conduct special enforcement projects, and take part in training and other projects de- signed to enhance the agency’s administration and en- forcement of its fair housing law; Whereas while our Nation has made great strides in elimi- nating housing discrimination, families with children, women, people with disabilities, people of color, religious minorities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and low- income people receiving public assistance, among others, still face discriminatory barriers to housing; Whereas fair housing education and enforcement play a piv- otal role in increasing housing choice and home owner- ship opportunities for members of protected classes and combating predatory lending; Whereas amid a global health and economic crisis, housing discrimination against health care workers and persons who have been infected by COVID–19, or are perceived as having been infected, is contributing to increased evic- tions and hate crimes; Whereas systemic health and economic disparities are exacer- bated by the COVID–19 pandemic, disproportionately in- fecting communities of color, destabilizing their employ- VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 363 IH ment opportunities, and resulting in higher levels of evic- tions and foreclosures; Whereas amidst the COVID–19 pandemic, harmful senti- ments toward Asian-American and Pacific Islander com- munities have incited increases in racialized and gendered violence across the Nation; Whereas reports of sexual harassment have increased by 300 percent during the COVID–19 pandemic, with incidents disproportionately being reported by women of color and transgender women; Whereas immigrant and limited-English proficient (LEP) communities must have in-language access to online, tele- phone, print, and all other mediums of housing informa- tion, notices, and resources during the COVID–19 pan- demic to prevent predatory and discriminatory housing and lending practices; Whereas persons with disabilities must have equal access to online, telephone, print, and all other mediums of housing information, notices, and resources during the COVID– 19 pandemic to prevent predatory and discriminatory housing and lending practices; Whereas persons with disabilities, including seniors and chil- dren with disabilities, have experienced unlawful denials of their reasonable accommodation requests to insulate them from exposure to COVID–19 and its associated life- threatening complications; and Whereas the Fair Housing Act is an essential component of our Nation’s civil rights legislation: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HRES 363 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Original Fair 2 Housing Resolution of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR FAIR HOUSING ACT. 4 The House of Representatives— 5 (1) supports the goals and values of the 53d 6 anniversary of the enactment of the Fair Housing 7 Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) and the 33d anniver- 8 sary of the enactment of the Fair Housing Amend- 9 ments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–430; 102 Stat. 10 1619); 11 (2) supports efforts to strengthen and increase 12 fair housing enforcement, education, and protec- 13 tions, particularly during the COVID–19 pandemic; 14 (3) supports activities to recognize and cele- 15 brate the important historical milestones represented 16 by the anniversaries of the enactments of the Fair 17 Housing Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act 18 of 1988; and 19 (4) encourages all people and levels of govern- 20 ment to rededicate themselves to the enforcement 21 and the ideals of fair housing laws. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 May 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR363.IH HR363 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS