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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For Immediate Release<\/p>\n
January 8, 2018<\/p>\n
Civil Rights, Housing, and Community Development Organizations Call on HUD to Maintain a Critical Fair Housing Tool and Not to Roll Back the Promise of the Fair Housing Act<\/strong><\/p>\n Washington, DC<\/strong> \u2013 76 national civil rights, faith-based, affordable housing and other organizations have voiced their strong opposition to HUD\u2019s sudden and short-sighted decision to effectively suspend the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation.<\/p>\n Nearly 50 years ago, Congress adopted the Fair Housing Act, landmark legislation necessary to end discrimination in housing and eliminate the barriers created by segregation.\u00a0 The AFFH regulation \u2014designed with considerable public input and piloted extensively \u2014 was adopted in 2015 and was a critical and long overdue step in carrying out Congress\u2019 intent. It provided jurisdictions with a roadmap and tools for compliance and included measures for accountability. \u00a0Without warning, HUD has decided effectively to suspend the regulation, leaving local jurisdictions confused, giving local residents less voice in important decisions about their communities, and reinstating an approach to fair housing that the Government Accountability Office found to be ineffective and poorly administered.<\/p>\n \u201cHUD\u2019s effective suspension of the rule does nothing to help local governments fulfill their fair housing responsibilities to create equitable, healthy communities and provide access to housing without discrimination,\u201d says Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO for PolicyLink.\u00a0 \u201cIt is the wrong move, particularly at a time when housing needs are so severe and housing and community development resources are so scarce.\u00a0 And by taking this step, HUD is abrogating its duty to carry out the mission Congress assigned it 50 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans strongly believe that a zip code should not determine a child\u2019s future, and that everyone \u2013 regardless of their race or national origin, the language they speak, or whether they have children or have a disability \u2013 should have access to the opportunities they need to succeed,\u201d said Shanna L. Smith, president and CEO for the National Fair Housing Alliance.\u00a0 \u201cBut we are falling short of achieving that goal.\u00a0 Actions taken over many years by HUD, other government agencies and the private sector have left us more segregated than we were 100 years ago.\u00a0 That has led to concentrated poverty and weaker communities and undermines our prosperity.\u00a0 We need HUD to enforce this important rule, not suspend it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe administration\u2019s abrupt decision to effectively suspend this critical regulation is misguided,\u201d says Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. \u00a0\u201cThe federal government, states and local communities have been required by law since 1968 to work to undo the segregated communities that federal housing policy created in the first place. \u00a0Suspending the tools that help communities meet that obligation, without any input from key stakeholders, is a step in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe obligation of local governments to \u2018affirmatively further fair housing\u2019 is essential to fulfill the promises of the Fair Housing Act, particularly\u00a0this year, the 50th Anniversary of this key civil rights law,\u201d said Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. \u201cHUD\u2019s proposed suspension would roll back one of the law\u2019s most critical tools to correct structural inequality and racial segregation and represents yet another attack by this Administration on communities of color across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHUD\u2019s decision to suspend a critical rule that has helped promote fair housing across the country is firm demonstration of\u00a0Secretary Ben Carson\u2019s hostility to fair enforcement and implementation of the Fair Housing Act,\u201d said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. \u00a0\u201cWe will not stand by idly as HUD works to roll back the important gains that have been made to promote fair housing opportunities across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n HUD\u2019s announcement today is a serious loss for fair housing and puts the promise of making every neighborhood a community of opportunity further out of reach. \u00a0We call on HUD to reverse its decision, withdraw this notice, and move ahead with implementation and enforcement of this important fair housing rule. \u00a0And we call on Congress to provide policy and budgetary oversight of HUD to ensure it is delivering on the promise of fair and equitable housing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For media inquiries, contact: Phoebe Plagens, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., 212.965.2235, pplagens@naacpldf.org<\/a><\/p>\n Jesse Meisenhelter, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, jmeisenhelter@ncrc.org<\/a>, 202-464-2737<\/p>\n Jessica Aiwuyor, National Fair Housing Alliance, Jaiwuyor@nationalfairhousing.org<\/a>, 202-898-1661 or Debby Goldberg, National Fair Housing Alliance, Dgoldberg@nationafairhousing.org<\/a>, 202-898-1661<\/p>\n Renee Willis, National Housing Law Project, Media@nlihc.org<\/a>, 202-662-1530<\/p>\n Lisa Marlow, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Lmarlow@nlihc.org<\/a>, 202-662-1530<\/p>\n Milly Hawk Daniel, PolicyLink, Milly@policylink.org<\/a>, 917-658-6468<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This statement is issued on behalf of:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Immediate Release January 8, 2018 Civil Rights, Housing, and Community Development Organizations Call on HUD to Maintain a Critical Fair Housing Tool and Not to Roll Back the Promise of the Fair Housing Act Washington, DC \u2013 76 national civil rights, faith-based, affordable housing and other organizations have voiced their strong opposition to HUD\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,34,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-media","category-nfha-news","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nJessica Brady, Lawyers\u2019 Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, (202) 662-8600 x 8317, press@lawyerscommittee.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
\n Action Center on Race and the Economy Institute<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n American Civil Liberties Union<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Autism Society of America<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Autistic Self Advocacy Network<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n California Reinvestment Coalition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n CarsonWatch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Center for Popular Democracy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Center for Responsible Lending<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Center for Social Innovation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Center for the Study of Social Policy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Center on Budget and Policy Priorities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Coalition on Human Needs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Consortium for Citizens With Disabilities Housing Task Force<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Consumer Action<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Consumer Federation of America<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Enterprise Community Parnters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Equal Justice Society<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n First Focus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n FORGE, Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Grounded Solutions Network<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Housing Assistance Council<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Impact Fund<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Japanese American Citizens League<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lambda Legal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LatinoJustice PRLDEF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Local Progress<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Low Income Investment Fund<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Alliance on Mental Illness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Association of Human Rights Workers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Center for Lesbian Rights<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Center for Transgender Equality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Community Reinvestment Coalition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Council of Churches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Disabilty Rights Network<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Education Association<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Equality Action Team (NEAT)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Fair Housing Alliance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Health Care for the Homeless Council<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Housing Law Project<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Housing Trust<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Juvenile Justice Network<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National LGBTQ Task Force<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Low Income Housing Coalition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Network to End Domestic Violence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n National Urban League<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Paralyzed Veterans of America<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n PFLAG National<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n PolicyLink<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Poverty & Race Research Action Council<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Pride at Work<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Prosperity Now<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Public Advocates Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Public Citizen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Smart Growth America<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Technical Assistance Collaborative<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n The Arc of the United States<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Transgender Law Center<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Treatment Communities of America<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n United Way Worldwide<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n