I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 149 

To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of 

nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives 

Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2017 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through 

the use of nationwide testing, to increase funds for the 

Fair Housing Initiatives Program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans, Women, 

5 Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabil6 ities Housing Fairness Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘Housing 

7 Fairness Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TESTING FOR DISCRIMINATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

3 Urban Development shall conduct a nationwide program 

4 of testing to— 

5 (1) detect and document differences in the 

6 treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase 

7 housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage 

8 loan, and measure patterns of adverse treatment be9 cause of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, 

10 disability status, or national origin of a renter, home 

11 buyer, or borrower; and 

12 (2) measure the prevalence of such discrimina13 tory practices across the housing and mortgage lend14 ing markets as a whole. 

15 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Housing 

16 and Urban Development shall enter into agreements with 

17 qualified fair housing enforcement organizations, as such 

18 organizations are defined under subsection (h) of section 

19 561 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 

20 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a(h)), for the purpose of conducting 

21 the testing required under subsection (a). 

22 (c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

23 shall— 

24 (1) submit to the Congress an evaluation by the 

25 Secretary of the effectiveness of the program under 

26 this section; and 


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1 (2) issue regulations that require each applica2 tion for the program under this section to contain— 

3 (A) a description of the assisted activities 

4 proposed to be undertaken by the applicant; 

5 (B) a description of the experience of the 

6 applicant in formulating or carrying out pro7 grams to carry out the activities described in 

8 subsection (a); and 

9 (C) a description of proposed procedures to 

10 be used by the applicant for evaluating the re11 sults of the activities proposed to be carried out 

12 under the program. 

13 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 

14 Development shall report to Congress— 

15 (1) on a biennial basis, the aggregate outcomes 

16 of testing required under subsection (a) along with 

17 any recommendations or proposals for legislative or 

18 administrative action to address any issues raised by 

19 such testing; and 

20 (2) on an annual basis, a detailed summary of 

21 the messages received by the Office of Fair Housing 

22 and Equal Opportunity of the Department through 

23 its 24-hour toll-free telephone hotline, through elec24 tronic mail, and through its website. 


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1 The Secretary may submit the reports required under 

2 paragraph (1) of this subsection as part of the reports 

3 prepared in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (6) of 

4 section 808(e) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 3608(e)) and section 561(j) of the Housing and Commu6 nity Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a(j)). 

7 (e) USE OF RESULTS.—The results of any testing re8 quired under subsection (a) may be used as the basis for 

9 the Secretary, or any Federal agency authorized to bring 

10 such an enforcement action, or any State or local govern11 ment or agency, public or private nonprofit organization 

12 or institution, or other public or private entity that the 

13 Secretary has entered into a contract or cooperative agree14 ment with under section 561 of the Housing and Commu15 nity Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a) to com16 mence, undertake, or pursue any investigation or enforce17 ment action to remedy any discriminatory housing practice 

18 (as such term is defined in section 802 of the Fair Hous19 ing Act (42 U.S.C. 3602)) uncovered as a result of such 

20 testing. 

21 (f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

22 (1) DISABILITY STATUS.—The term ‘‘disability 

23 status’’ has the same meaning given the term 

24 ‘‘handicap’’ in section 802 of the Civil Rights Act of 

25 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3602). 


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1 (2) FAMILIAL STATUS.—The term ‘‘familial sta2 tus’’ has the same meaning given that term in sec3 tion 802 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

4 3602). 

5 (g) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

6 this section may be construed to amend, alter, or affect 

7 any provision of criminal law or the Truth in Lending Act 

8 (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

9 (h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expiration of 

10 the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop12 ment shall issue regulations that establish minimum 

13 standards for the training of testers of organizations con14 ducting testing required under subsection (a). Such regu15 lations shall serve as the basis of an evaluation of such 

16 testers, which shall be developed by the Secretary, and 

17 such regulations shall be issued after notice and an oppor18 tunity for public comment in accordance with the proce19 dure under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, ap20 plicable to substantive rules (notwithstanding subsections 

21 (a)(2), (b)(3)(B), and (d)(3) of such section). 

22 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provi24 sions of this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

25 2018 through 2022. 


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1 SEC. 3. INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR THE FAIR HOUSING INI2 TIATIVES PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 561 of the Housing and 

4 Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘quali8 fied’’ before ‘‘private nonprofit fair housing en9 forcement organizations,’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘quali11 fied’’ before ‘‘private nonprofit fair housing en12 forcement organizations,’’; 

13 (2) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

17 appropriated to carry out the provisions of this sec18 tion $42,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 

19 through 2019, of which— 

20 ‘‘(A) not less than 75 percent of such 

21 amounts shall be for private enforcement initia22 tives authorized under subsection (b); 

23 ‘‘(B) not more than 10 percent of such 

24 amounts shall be for education and outreach 

25 programs under subsection (d); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) any remaining amounts shall be used 

2 for program activities authorized under this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Any amount appropriated 

5 under this section shall remain available until ex6 pended to carry out the provisions of this section.’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (h), in the matter following 

8 subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘and meets the cri9 teria described in subparagraphs (A) and (C)’’ after 

10 ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; and 

11 (4) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

16 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (iii) by adding after subparagraph (D) 

18 the following new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(E) websites and other media outlets.’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or other 

21 public or private entities’’ and inserting ‘‘or 

22 other public or private nonprofit entities’’; and 

23 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or other 

24 public or private entities’’ and inserting ‘‘or 

25 other public or private nonprofit entities’’. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expiration of 

2 the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop4 ment shall issue regulations that establish minimum 

5 standards for the training of testers of organizations fund6 ed with any amounts made available to carry out this sec7 tion for any of fiscal years 2015 through 2019. Such regu8 lations shall serve as the basis of an evaluation of such 

9 testers, which shall be developed by the Secretary, and 

10 shall be issued after notice and an opportunity for public 

11 comment in accordance with the procedure under section 

12 553 of title 5, United States Code, applicable to sub13 stantive rules (notwithstanding subsections (a)(2), 

14 (b)(3)(B), and (d)(3) of such section). 

15 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of 

17 Housing and Urban Development should— 

18 (1) fully comply with the requirements of sec19 tion 561(d) of the Housing and Community Develop20 ment Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a(d)) to establish, 

21 design, and maintain a national education and out22 reach program to provide a centralized, coordinated 

23 effort for the development and dissemination of the 

24 fair housing rights of individuals who seek to rent, 

25 purchase, sell, or facilitate the sale of a home; 


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1 (2) expend for such education and outreach 

2 programs all amounts appropriated for such pro3 grams; 

4 (3) promulgate regulations regarding the fair 

5 housing obligations of each recipient of Federal 

6 housing and community development funds to af7 firmatively further fair housing, as that term is de8 fined under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 

9 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.); and 

10 (4) fully comply with the requirements of sec11 tion 810(a) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 3610(a)). 

13 SEC. 5. GRANTS TO PRIVATE ENTITIES TO STUDY HOUSING 

14 DISCRIMINATION. 

15 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Housing 

16 and Urban Development shall carry out a competitive 

17 matching grant program to assist public and private non18 profit organizations in— 

19 (1) conducting comprehensive studies that ex20 amine— 

21 (A) the causes of housing discrimination 

22 and segregation; 

23 (B) the effects of housing discrimination 

24 and segregation on education, poverty, and eco25 nomic development; or 


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1 (C) the incidences, causes, and effects of 

2 housing discrimination and segregation on vet3 erans and military personnel; and 

4 (2) implementing pilot projects that test solu5 tions that will help prevent or alleviate housing dis6 crimination and segregation. 

7 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

8 under this section, a public or private nonprofit organiza9 tion shall— 

10 (1) submit an application to the Secretary of 

11 Housing and Urban Development, containing such 

12 information as the Secretary shall require; 

13 (2) agree to provide matching non-Federal 

14 funds for 50 percent of the total amount of the 

15 grant, which matching funds may include items do16 nated on an in-kind contribution basis; and 

17 (3) meet the requirements of a qualified fair 

18 housing enforcement organization, as such term is 

19 defined in section 561(h) of the Housing and Com20 munity Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 

21 3616a(h)), or subcontract with a qualified fair hous22 ing enforcement organization as a primary subcon23 tractor. 

24 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 

25 Development shall submit a report to the Congress on a 


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1 biennial basis that provides a detailed summary of the re2 sults of the comprehensive studies and pilot projects car3 ried out under subsection (a), together with any rec4 ommendations or proposals for legislative or administra5 tive actions to address any issues raised by such studies. 

6 The Secretary may submit the reports required under this 

7 subsection as part of the reports prepared in accordance 

8 with paragraphs (2) and (6) of section 808(e) of the Fair 

9 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3608(e)) and section 561(j) of 

10 the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 

11 (42 U.S.C. 3616a(j)). 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provi14 sions of this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

15 2018 through 2022. 

16 SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS. 

17 None of the funds made available under this Act, or 

18 the amendments made by this Act, may be used for any 

19 political activities, political advocacy, or lobbying (as such 

20 terms are defined by Circular A–122 of the Office of Man21 agement and Budget, entitled ‘‘Cost Principles for Non22 Profit Organizations’’), or for expenses for travel to en23 gage in political activities or preparation of or provision 

24 of advice on tax returns. 

Æ 


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