IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 714 
Supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act and Fair Housing 
Month, which includes bringing attention to the discrimination faced 
by minority populations 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 29, 2016 
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LEE, 
Mr. LEWIS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California, Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 
BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ELLISON, and Mr. HASTINGS) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act 
and Fair Housing Month, which includes bringing atten-
tion to the discrimination faced by minority populations 
in the United States in housing and housing-related 
transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, 
sex, familial status, disability, and religion. 
Whereas April 11, 2016, marked the 48th anniversary of the 
enactment of the Fair Housing Act (title VIII of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1968; Public Law 90–284); 
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Whereas September 13, 2016, marks the 28th anniversary of 
the enactment of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 
1988 (Public Law 100–430); 
Whereas the Chicago Freedom Movement, led by the Rev-
erend 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 that is the Fair Housing Act; 
Whereas the National Advisory Commission on Civil Dis-
orders, 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 Mar-
tin Luther King, Jr.; 
Whereas the 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 De-
velopment Act of 1974, the Congress amended the Fair 
Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of 
sex; 
Whereas the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, passed 
by overwhelming margins in Congress, included protec-
tion on the basis of familial status and disability, created 
an important enforcement mechanism, and expanded the 
definition of ‘‘discriminatory housing practices’’ to in-
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clude interference and intimidation, requiring the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development to issue regu-
lations to implement and interpret the Fair Housing Act 
and report annually to the Congress on the nature and 
extent of housing discrimination; 
Whereas the intent of the Congress in passing the Fair Hous-
ing Act was broad and inclusive, to advance equal oppor-
tunity in housing and achieve racial integration for the 
benefit of all people in the United States; 
Whereas where one lives affects educational attainment, em-
ployment opportunities, access to healthcare, and home 
equity; 
Whereas the majority of Americans support neighborhood in-
tegration, and numerous studies have shown the uni-
versal benefits of residential integration; 
Whereas more than 4,000,000 violations of fair housing laws 
still occur each year against people of all protected class-
es, 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 fair housing centers funded by Fair Housing Initia-
tives Program (FHIP) are the front line in the effort to 
resolve housing discrimination; 
Whereas in 2015, approximately 27,600 housing discrimina-
tion complaints were filed, of which 19,400 complaints 
were resolved by fair housing centers; 
Whereas the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) pro-
vides fair housing grants annually on a noncompetitive 
basis to State and local fair housing enforcement agen-
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cies, which are used for complaint processing, administra-
tive costs, special enforcement efforts, training, and other 
projects designed to enhance the agencies’ administration 
and enforcement of their fair housing laws; 
Whereas fair housing education and enforcement play a piv-
otal role in increasing housing choice and minority home-
ownership and combating predatory lending; 
Whereas the Fair Housing Act is an essential component of 
our Nation’s civil rights legislation; and 
Whereas the month of April 2016 is officially celebrated as 
Fair Housing Month: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the significance of Fair Housing 
Month; 
(2) upon the occasions of the 48th anniversary 
of the enactment of the Fair Housing Act and the 
28th anniversary of the enactment of the Fair Hous-
ing Amendments Act of 1988, supports the goals 
and ideals of such Acts and of Fair Housing Month; 
(3) supports activities to recognize and cele-
brate the important historical milestones represented 
by the anniversaries of the enactment of such Acts; 
and 
(4) encourages all people and levels of govern-
ment to rededicate themselves to the enforcement 
and the ideals of fair housing laws. 
Æ 
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