I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3516 
To amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination based on source 
of income, veteran status, or military status. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 26, 2019 
Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SERRANO, and Ms. 
PRESSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination 
based on source of income, veteran status, or military status. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Housing Improve-
ment Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITING HOUSING DISCRIMINATION BASED 
ON SOURCE OF INCOME, VETERAN STATUS, 
OR MILITARY STATUS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
3601 et seq.) is amended— 
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(1) in section 802 (42 U.S.C. 3602), by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(p) ‘Military status’ means a member of the uni-
formed services, as defined in section 101 of title 10, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(q) ‘Source of income’ includes— 
‘‘(1) a housing voucher under section 8 of the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f) and any form of Federal, State, or local 
housing assistance provided to a person or family or 
provided to a housing owner on behalf of a person 
or family, including rental vouchers, rental assist-
ance, and rental subsidies from nongovernmental or-
ganizations; 
‘‘(2) income received as a monthly benefit 
under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
401 et seq.), as a supplemental security income ben-
efit under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), or as a benefit under the Rail-
road Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231 et 
seq.); 
‘‘(3) income received by court order, including 
spousal support and child support; 
‘‘(4) any payment from a trust, guardian, con-
servator, or other relative; and 
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‘‘(5) any other lawful source of income or 
funds, including savings accounts and investments. 
‘‘(r) ‘Veteran status’ means a veteran, as defined in 
section 101 of title 38, United States Code.’’; 
(2) in section 804 (42 U.S.C. 3604)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘source of income, veteran 
status, military status,’’ after ‘‘familial status,’’ 
each place that term appears; and 
(B) in subsection (c)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘To 
make’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) Nothing in this title shall be construed to— 
‘‘(A) prohibit a lender from implementing a 
loan program for veterans or based upon veteran 
status or military status; or 
‘‘(B) prohibit an entity from providing housing 
assistance under section 8(o)(19) of the United 
States 
Housing 
Act 
of 
1937 
(42 
U.S.C. 
1437f(o)(19)), the Homeless Providers Grant and 
Per Diem program of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, or any other Federal housing assistance pro-
gram for veterans or based upon veteran status or 
military status.’’; 
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(3) in section 805 (42 U.S.C. 3605)— 
(A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘source 
of income, veteran status, military status,’’ 
after ‘‘familial status,’’; and 
(B) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘source 
of income, veteran status, military status,’’ 
after ‘‘handicap,’’; 
(4) in section 806 (42 U.S.C. 3606), by insert-
ing ‘‘source of income, veteran status, military sta-
tus,’’ after ‘‘familial status,’’; 
(5) in section 808(e)(6) (42 U.S.C. 3608(e)(6)), 
by inserting ‘‘source of income, veteran status, mili-
tary status,’’ after ‘‘handicap,’’; and 
(6) in section 810(f) (42 U.S.C. 3610(f)), by 
striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(4) During the period beginning on the date of en-
actment of the Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2019 
and ending on the date that is 40 months after such date 
of enactment, each agency certified for purposes of this 
title on the day before such date of enactment shall, for 
purposes of this subsection, be considered certified under 
this subsection with respect to those matters for which the 
agency was certified on that date. If the Secretary deter-
mines in an individual case that an agency has not been 
able to meet the certification requirements within this 40- 
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month period due to exceptional circumstances, such as 
the infrequency of legislative sessions in that jurisdiction, 
the Secretary may extend such period by not more than 
6 months.’’. 
(b) PREVENTION OF INTIMIDATION IN FAIR HOUS-
ING CASES.—Section 901 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 3631) is amended by inserting ‘‘source of in-
come (as defined in section 802), veteran status (as de-
fined in section 802), military status (as defined in section 
802),’’ before ‘‘or national origin’’ each place that term 
appears. 
Æ 
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