[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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