[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 714 Introduced in House (IH)]
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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) submitted 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 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.
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);
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 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
that is 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 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, 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 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 the Congress on the nature and
extent of housing discrimination;
Whereas the intent of the 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 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 fair housing centers funded by Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP)
are the front line in the effort to resolve housing discrimination;
Whereas in 2015, approximately 27,600 housing discrimination complaints were
filed, of which 19,400 complaints were resolved by fair housing centers;
Whereas the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) provides fair housing grants
annually on a noncompetitive 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 agencies' administration and
enforcement of their fair housing laws;
Whereas fair housing education and enforcement play a pivotal role in increasing
housing choice and minority homeownership 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 Housing Amendments Act of 1988,
supports the goals and ideals of such Acts and of Fair Housing
Month;
(3) supports activities to recognize and celebrate the
important historical milestones represented by the
anniversaries of the enactment of such Acts; and
(4) encourages all people and levels of government to
rededicate themselves to the enforcement and the ideals of fair
housing laws.
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