[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 817 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 817

 Promoting and supporting the goals and ideals of the Fair Housing Act 
   and recognizing April 2018 as Fair Housing Month, which includes 
 bringing attention to the discrimination faced by every-day Americans 
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 11, 2018

 Mr. Al Green of Texas (for himself, Ms. Bass, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Beyer, 
Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. 
 Carson of Indiana, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Clay, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. 
 Clyburn, Mr. Crist, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. 
 Ellison, Mr. Evans, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Gutierrez, 
 Mr. Hastings, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Jackson Lee, 
   Mr. Jeffries, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Johnson of 
 Georgia, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mrs. Lawrence, Ms. Lee, Mr. Lewis of 
Georgia, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Moore, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
  Payne, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. 
    Rush, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Ms. Sewell of 
   Alabama, Mr. Sires, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Veasey, Ms. 
   Velazquez, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Maxine 
     Waters of California, Ms. Wilson of Florida, and Mr. Smith of 
 Washington) 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 2018 as Fair Housing Month, which includes 
 bringing attention to the discrimination faced by every-day Americans 
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, 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the congressional passage 
        of the Fair Housing Act (title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968);
Whereas September 13, 2018, marks the 30th anniversary of the congressional 
        passage of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988;
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, 
        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 on February 29, 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 original Fair Housing Act prohibits 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 this commitment to ``build inclusive and sustainable 
        communities free from discrimination'';
Whereas in section 808 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, 
        Congress amended the Fair Housing Act to include protection 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 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 housing testing has revealed that discrimination on the basis of sexual 
        orientation or gender identity exists and that fair housing protections 
        must be extended to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer 
        (LGBTQ) community;
Whereas an individual's housing conditions impact their health, educational 
        attainment level, employment opportunities, and personal wealth;
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 private, nonprofit, fair housing centers funded by Fair Housing 
        Initiatives Program (FHIP) are the frontline in the effort to resolve 
        housing discrimination and train local housing providers on how to 
        comply with the Fair Housing Act;
Whereas in 2016 approximately 28,181 housing discrimination complaints were 
        filed, of which 19,740 complaints or approximately 70 percent, were 
        filed with local private, nonprofit, fair housing centers;
Whereas the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) funds fair housing grants 
        annually on a non-competitive 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 agency's administration and enforcement 
        of its fair housing law;
Whereas while our Nation has made great strides in eliminating housing 
        discrimination, families with children, women, people with disabilities, 
        people of color, and religious minorities still face unnecessary 
        barriers to housing;
Whereas fair housing education and enforcement play a pivotal role in increasing 
        housing choice and minority homeownership and combating predatory 
        lending; and
Whereas the Fair Housing Act is an essential component of our Nation's civil 
        rights legislation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and values of the 50th anniversary 
        of the enactment of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et 
        seq.) and the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Fair 
        Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-430; 102 Stat. 
        1619);
            (2) supports activities to recognize and celebrate the 
        important historical milestones represented by the 
        anniversaries of the enactment of the Fair Housing Act and the 
        enactment of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988; and
            (3) encourages all people and levels of government to 
        rededicate themselves to the enforcement and the ideals of fair 
        housing laws.
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