IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 291 

Promoting and supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act 

and recognizing April 2017 as Fair Housing Month, which includes 

bringing attention to the discrimination faced by every-day Americans 

in the United States in housing and housing-related transactions on 

the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, familial status, disability, 

and religion. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2017 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. 

BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CLAY, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RUSH, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. PLASKETT, 

Mr. BEYER, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California, Ms. MOORE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. LEE, 

Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. 

KELLY of Illinois, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Mr. 

RICHMOND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 

Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mrs. LAWRENCE, and Ms. SHEA-PORTER) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Promoting and supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair 

Housing Act and recognizing April 2017 as Fair Housing 

Month, which includes bringing attention to the discrimination faced by every-day Americans in the United 

States in housing and housing-related transactions on 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 291 IH 

the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, familial 

status, disability, and religion. 

Whereas April 11, 2017, marked the 49th anniversary of congressional passage of the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII 

of the Civil Rights Act of 1968); 

Whereas September 13, 2017, marks the 29th anniversary of 

congressional passage of the Fair Housing Amendments 

Act of 1988; 

Whereas the Chicago Freedom Movement, led by the Reverend 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 legislation, the Fair Housing Act; 

Whereas the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and 

commonly known as the Kerner Commission, found in 

1968 that ‘‘[o]ur nation is moving toward two societies, 

one black and one white—separate and unequal’’; 

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 Martin Luther King, Jr.; 

Whereas the original Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing and housing-related transactions on the 

basis of race, color, national origin, and religion; 

Whereas in section 808 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Congress amended the Fair 

Housing Act to include protection on the basis of sex; 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 291 IH 

Whereas the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 passed 

by overwhelming margins in Congress, included protection on the basis of familial status and disability, created 

an important enforcement mechanism, and expanded the 

definition of ‘‘discriminatory housing practices’’ to include interference and intimidation, requiring the Department of Housing and Urban Development to issue regulations to implement and interpret the Fair Housing Act 

and report annually to Congress on the nature and extent 

of housing discrimination; 

Whereas the intent of Congress in passing the Fair Housing 

Act was broad and inclusive, to advance equal opportunity in housing and achieve racial integration for the 

benefit of all people in the United States; 

Whereas where one lives affects housing conditions, educational attainment, employment opportunities, access to 

healthcare, and home equity; 

Whereas the majority of Americans support neighborhood integration, and numerous studies have shown the universal benefits of residential integration; 

Whereas more than 4,000,000 violations of fair housing laws 

still occur each year against people of all protected classes, and testing of the enforcement of fair housing laws 

continues to uncover a high rate of discrimination in the 

rental, sales, mortgage lending, and insurance markets; 

Whereas less than 1 percent of violations of fair housing laws 

are reported each year; 

Whereas private, nonprofit, fair housing centers funded by 

Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) are the frontline in the effort to resolve housing discrimination and 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 291 IH 

train local housing providers on how to comply with the 

Fair Housing Act; 

Whereas in 2015 approximately 27,900 housing discrimination complaints were filed, of which 19,600 complaints 

were filed with local private, nonprofit, fair housing centers; 

Whereas the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) 

funds fair housing grants annually on a non-competitive 

basis to State and local fair housing enforcement agencies which are used for complaint processing, administrative costs, special enforcement efforts, training and other 

projects designed to enhance the agency’s administration 

and enforcement of its fair housing law; 

Whereas fair housing education and enforcement play a pivotal role in increasing housing choice and minority homeownership and combating predatory lending; and 

Whereas the Fair Housing Act is an essential component of 

our Nation’s civil rights legislation: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the goals and values of the 49th 

3 anniversary of the enactment of the Fair Housing 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) and the 29th anniver5 sary of the enactment of the Fair Housing Amend6 ments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–430; 102 Stat. 

7 1619); 

8 (2) supports activities to recognize and cele9 brate the important historical milestones represented 

10 by the anniversaries of the enactment of the Fair 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 291 IH 

1 Housing Act and the enactment of the Fair Housing 

2 Amendments Act of 1988; and 

3 (3) encourages all people and levels of govern4 ment to rededicate themselves to the enforcement 

5 and the ideals of fair housing laws. 

Æ 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS