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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 337 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 337

 Promoting and supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act 
 and recognizing April 2023 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2023

 Mr. Green of Texas (for himself, Ms. Waters, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
   Ms. Norton, Ms. Velazquez, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. 
  Bonamici, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. 
 Trone, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Brown, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Carson, 
 Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Lee of California, 
 Ms. Sanchez, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Williams of Georgia, and 
 Mr. Evans) 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 2023 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.

Whereas April 11, 2023, marks the 55th anniversary of the date of 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 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 Act;
Whereas the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 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 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 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant 
        on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights recognize adequate housing as a 
        human right;
Whereas the original Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination in housing and 
        housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national 
        origin, and religion;
Whereas the mission statement of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
        (HUD) reflects a commitment to ``build inclusive and sustainable 
        communities free from discrimination'';
Whereas, in section 808 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 
        (Public Law 93-383), Congress amended the Fair Housing Act to include 
        protection on the basis of sex, including gender identity and sexual 
        orientation;
Whereas September 13, 2023, will mark the 35th anniversary of the congressional 
        passage of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988;
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 HUD 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 the intent of Congress in passing the Fair Housing Act was to prohibit 
        discrimination in all housing and housing-related transactions, 
        including policies or practices that appear superficially neutral, but 
        have a discriminatory effect on protected classes;
Whereas the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the use of the disparate impact 
        doctrine to challenge policies or practices that have a discriminatory 
        effect on protected classes;
Whereas the majority of large metropolitan areas in the United States are more 
        racially segregated today than in 1990;
Whereas research shows that, in some cases, the placement of housing funded 
        through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which is the single 
        largest source of Federal funding for the creation of affordable housing 
        in the United States, further entrenches racial residential segregation, 
        despite the Fair Housing Act requiring that Federal housing funds be 
        used to affirmatively undo patterns of residential segregation;
Whereas fair housing testing has revealed that discrimination on the basis of 
        sexual orientation and gender identity exists 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 couples, and when same-sex couples are 
        approved, they pay an average of $86,000,000 more in combined annual 
        interest 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 sources of income, and that fair housing protections against 
        source-of-income discrimination must be provided to all people;
Whereas the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and Housing Trust Fund already 
        prohibit the refusal of housing funded through such programs to Housing 
        Choice Voucher holders or individuals receiving rental assistance 
        through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program;
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 neighborhoods are 
        undervalued by approximately $162,000,000,000 when compared to owner-
        occupied homes in similarly situated communities that have very few or 
        no Black residents;
Whereas the average home in a White neighborhood is valued 2 times higher than 
        comparable homes in Black and Latinx neighborhoods, even after 
        controlling for neighborhood characteristics;
Whereas 92.4 percent of appraisers identify as White and 54.5 percent identify 
        as male, compared to the total United States population that identifies 
        as 59.3 percent White and 49.5 percent male;
Whereas more than 71 percent of people experiencing homelessness in the United 
        States are Black, Latinx, Asian American, Indigenous, or otherwise non-
        White despite making up just over 43 percent of the total population of 
        the United States;
Whereas an individual's housing conditions impacts their health, educational 
        attainment level, employment opportunities, exposure to the adverse 
        effects of climate change, and personal wealth;
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 the 2020 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data show that the majority of 
        loans purchased by the government-sponsored housing finance enterprises 
        primarily served higher income, White borrowers in wealthier, majority-
        White neighborhoods;
Whereas Black and Latinx borrowers are more likely to receive mortgage loans 
        through the Federal Housing Administration, even when they qualify for 
        conventional lending options that may offer more affordable terms;
Whereas research shows that algorithmic bias and discrimination exist in online 
        housing platforms, automated valuation models, and lending that use 
        artificial intelligence for advertising and decisionmaking purposes, and 
        there is an urgent need to eliminate individual bias that enters into 
        the development of artificial intelligence systems and systemic bias 
        through the use of inappropriate or historically biased data;
Whereas the majority of Americans support neighborhood integration and numerous 
        studies have shown the universal benefits of residential integration;
Whereas reports indicate there are more than 4,000,000 violations 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 1 percent of fair housing violations are reported each year;
Whereas private nonprofit fair housing organizations funded by the Fair Housing 
        Initiatives Program (FHIP) serve as the front line in the effort to 
        resolve housing discrimination and train local housing providers on how 
        to comply with the Fair Housing Act;
Whereas, in 2021, there were a total of 31,216 housing discrimination complaints 
        reported nationwide, an 8.7-percent increase over the number of 
        complaints filed in 2020, despite there being less FHIP organizations 
        available to process such complaints;
Whereas the Fair Housing Assistance Program funds State as well as local civil 
        and human rights enforcement agencies to investigate and process housing 
        discrimination complaints, conduct special enforcement projects, and 
        take part in training and other projects designed to enhance the 
        agency's administration and enforcement of fair housing laws;
Whereas while our Nation has made great strides in eliminating 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 pivotal role in increasing 
        housing choice and homeownership 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 people who have been infected by the 
        coronavirus, or are perceived as having been infected, is contributing 
        to increased evictions and hate crimes;
Whereas systemic health and economic disparities have been exacerbated by the 
        coronavirus pandemic, disproportionately infecting communities of color, 
        destabilizing their employment opportunities, and resulting in higher 
        levels of evictions and foreclosures;
Whereas, during the coronavirus pandemic, as mortgage interest rates reached 
        historic lows, Black borrowers were disproportionately denied mortgage 
        loans to purchase and refinance homes due to biased and potentially 
        discriminatory appraisal and lending policies and practices, excluding 
        them from wealth-building opportunities and lower housing costs;
Whereas, during the coronavirus pandemic, harmful sentiments toward Asian 
        American and Pacific Islander communities incited increases in 
        racialized and gendered violence across the Nation;
Whereas reports of sexual harassment increased by 300 percent during the 
        coronavirus pandemic, with women of color and transgender women 
        disproportionately reporting such incidents;
Whereas immigrant and limited-English proficient communities must have in-
        language access to online, telephone, print, and all other mediums of 
        housing information, notices, and resources during the coronavirus 
        pandemic 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 coronavirus pandemic to prevent predatory and 
        discriminatory housing and lending practices;
Whereas persons with disabilities, including seniors and children with 
        disabilities, have experienced unlawful denials of their reasonable 
        accommodation requests to insulate them from exposure to the coronavirus 
        and its associated life-threatening complications;
Whereas there is a chronic undersupply of accessible housing and an 
        underenforcement of housing accessibility standards, which denies many 
        people with disabilities their right to fair and accessible housing that 
        is integrated into community settings; and
Whereas the Fair Housing Act is an essential component of our Nation's civil 
        rights legislation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Original Fair Housing 
Resolution of 2023''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR FAIR HOUSING ACT.

    The House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and values of the 55th anniversary 
        of the enactment of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et 
        seq.) and the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the Fair 
        Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-430; 102 Stat. 
        1619);
            (2) supports efforts to expand, strengthen, and increase 
        fair housing enforcement, education, and protections, including 
        robust funding for enforcement and to fully staff the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Fair 
        Housing and Equal Opportunity and an expansion of fair housing 
        rights to include Federal source of income protections;
            (3) supports activities to recognize and celebrate the 
        important historical milestones represented by the 
        anniversaries of the enactments of the Fair Housing Act and the 
        Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988; and
            (4) encourages all people, every level of government, and 
        each Federal agency to rededicate themselves to the enforcement 
        and the ideals of the Fair Housing Act and supporting civil 
        rights laws.
                                 <all>
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