[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 149 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 548
116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 149

                          [Report No. 116-664]

To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of 
nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives 
                    Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2019

Mr. Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Financial Services

                           December 17, 2020

 Additional sponsors: Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. 
 Lawson of Florida, Mr. Clay, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. San Nicolas, 
               Mr. Heck, Mr. Blumenauer, and Mr. Delgado

                           December 17, 2020

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 
                                3, 2019]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of 
nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives 
                    Program, and for other purposes.


 


    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Housing Fairness Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. TESTING FOR DISCRIMINATION.

    (a) Eligible Activity Under FHIP.--Subsection (a) of section 561 of 
the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a(a)) 
is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting 
        after ``discriminatory housing practices'' the following: ``or, 
        in the case of grants or contracts for activities under 
        paragraph (3) with qualified private, non-profit fair housing 
        enforcement organizations that have demonstrated expertise in 
        managing and implementing regional or national testing programs 
        to address systemic fair housing issues'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (3) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) programs of regional or national testing and 
        investigations to (i) detect and document differences in the 
        treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or 
        obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan, and measure patterns 
        of differential treatment because of the status of a renter, 
        home buyer, or borrower as a member of the protected classes 
        under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), and (ii) 
        measure the prevalence, nature, and extent of discriminatory 
        practices covered under the Fair Housing Act.
The results of any testing and investigations pursuant to paragraph (3) 
may be used as the basis for the Secretary, or any Federal agency 
authorized to bring such an enforcement action, or any State or local 
government or agency, public or private nonprofit organization or 
institution, or other aggrieved parties as defined by title VIII of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1968 or other substantially equivalent State or 
local fair housing law, or other public or private entity that the 
Secretary has entered into a contract or cooperative agreement with 
under this section to commence, undertake, or pursue any investigation 
or enforcement action to remedy any discriminatory housing practice (as 
such term is defined in section 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
3602)) uncovered as a result of such testing and investigations. 
Testing conducted pursuant to paragraph (3) shall not constitute a 
violation of any provision of criminal law or the Truth in Lending Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).''.
    (b) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 180-day 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue regulations that 
apply the minimum tester training standards required under section 
125.107 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, to organizations 
conducting testing under section 561(a)(3) of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1987, as added by the amendment made by subsection 
(a)(4) of this section. Any subsequent amendments, changes, and updates 
to such minimum standards shall apply to all activities under such 
section 561.

SEC. 3. FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM.

    (a) Amendments to Program.--Section 561 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``qualified'' 
                before ``private nonprofit fair housing enforcement 
                organizations,''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``qualified'' 
                before ``private nonprofit fair housing enforcement 
                organizations,'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Program-earned income.--No restrictions on the use of 
        program-earned income received by qualified fair housing 
        enforcement organizations shall apply after the grant period 
        for such organization ends.'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 
                        period and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding after subparagraph (D) the 
                        following:
                    ``(E) websites and other media outlets.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or other public 
                or private entities'' and inserting ``or other public 
                or private nonprofit entities'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or other public 
                or private entities'' and inserting ``or other public 
                or private nonprofit entities''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this section, a State or local agency certified by the 
        Secretary under section 810(f) of the Fair Housing Act may 
        receive assistance under this subsection only to carry out 
        activities eligible for assistance under this subsection in 
        areas in which no qualified fair housing enforcement 
        organization is available to carry out such activities.
            ``(5) Eligibility.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this section, if an award of funding under subsection (b) for 
        multiple fiscal years has been made to a qualified fair housing 
        enforcement organization, such organization is, subject only to 
        the availability of amounts provided in appropriation Acts, 
        eligible to receive funding under this subsection for each 
        fiscal year covered by such award under subsection (b).'';
            (4) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ``Banking, Finance 
                and Urban Affairs'' and inserting ``Financial 
                Services''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Priority.--In providing assistance under this section 
        with respect to metropolitan statistical areas for which there 
        are multiple applications for such assistance, the Secretary 
        shall give priority to applications submitted by qualified fair 
        housing enforcement organizations that have experience in 
        conducting fair housing enforcement activities.'';
            (5) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the following:
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out this section--
                    ``(A) $58,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
                through 2025, of which--
                            ``(i) $55,000,000 shall be available for 
                        any activities under this section other than 
                        programs under subsection (a)(3), of which--
                                    ``(I) not less than $38,000,000 
                                shall be for private enforcement 
                                initiatives authorized under subsection 
                                (b);
                                    ``(II) not less than $1,500,000 
                                shall be for the fair housing 
                                organizations initiative under 
                                subsection (c);
                                    ``(III) not less than $10,000,000 
                                shall be for the education and outreach 
                                initiative under subsection (d), of 
                                which--
                                            ``(aa) at least $8,000,000 
                                        shall be for local education 
                                        and outreach activities; and
                                            ``(bb) at least $2,000,000 
                                        shall be for national media 
                                        activities; and
                                    ``(IV) any remaining amounts shall 
                                be used for any program activities 
                                authorized under this section; and
                            ``(ii) $3,000,000 shall be available only 
                        for programs under subsection (a)(3); and
                    ``(B) $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 
                through 2031, of which--
                            ``(i) for each such fiscal year, 
                        $65,000,000 shall be available for any 
                        activities under this section other than 
                        programs under subsection (a)(3), of which--
                                    ``(I) not less than $44,000,000 
                                shall be for private enforcement 
                                initiatives authorized under subsection 
                                (b);
                                    ``(II) not less than $1,500,000 
                                shall be for the fair housing 
                                organizations initiative under 
                                subsection (c);
                                    ``(III) not less than $12,500,000 
                                shall be for the education and outreach 
                                initiative under subsection (d), of 
                                which--
                                            ``(aa) at least $10,000,000 
                                        shall be for local education 
                                        and outreach activities; and
                                            ``(bb) at least $2,500,000 
                                        shall be for national media 
                                        activities; and
                                    ``(IV) any remaining amounts shall 
                                be used for any program activities 
                                authorized under this section; and
                            ``(ii) for each such fiscal year $5,000,000 
                        shall be available only for programs under 
                        subsection (a)(3).
            ``(2) Availability.--Any amount appropriated under this 
        section shall remain available until expended to carry out the 
        provisions of this section.
            ``(3) Award of funding.--Within 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of any Act making amounts available to carry out 
        this section, the Secretary shall issue a Notice of Funding 
        Availability with respect to such amounts and, within 180 days 
        after such date of enactment, the Secretary shall award such 
        amounts.'';
            (6) in subsection (h)(1), in the matter following 
        subparagraph (C), by inserting ``and meets the criteria 
        described in subparagraphs (A) and (C)'' before the period at 
        the end; and
            (7) in subsection (j)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                inserting ``regarding such preceding fiscal year,'' 
                after ``comprehensive report''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and the use of 
                such funds during the preceding fiscal year'' and 
                inserting ``, the use of such funds during the 
                preceding fiscal year, and outcomes such as the number 
                of housing units made available and accessible to 
                protected classes under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
                3601 et seq.)''.
    (b) Study.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall 
conduct a study to determine the feasibility, efficiency, and 
effectiveness of converting the Fair Housing Initiatives Program under 
section 561 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 
U.S.C. 3616a) into a noncompetitive, entitlement program to provide 
general operating funding to qualified fair housing organizations, the 
appropriate levels of funding for such a program taking into 
consideration the number of such qualified funding recipients, and what 
factors should be considered in providing for an equitable distribution 
to qualified recipients of funding. The Secretary shall submit a report 
to the Congress setting forth the results of the study under this 
subsection not later than the expiration of the 12-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, which shall include 
any recommendations regarding such conversion of the program.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development should--
            (1) fully comply with the requirements of section 561(d) of 
        the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 
        3616a(d)) to establish, design, and maintain a national 
        education and outreach program to provide a centralized, 
        coordinated effort for the development and dissemination of--
                    (A) materials and information about the fair 
                housing rights of individuals who seek to rent, 
                purchase, sell, or facilitate the sale of a home; and
                    (B) materials and information about the fair 
                housing responsibilities of industry professionals 
                providing products and services covered under the Fair 
                Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.);
            (2) expend for such education and outreach programs all 
        amounts appropriated for such programs;
            (3) fully reinstate the regulations promulgated on July 16, 
        2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 42271), regarding the fair housing 
        obligations of each recipient of Federal housing and community 
        development funds to affirmatively further fair housing, as 
        that term is defined under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act 
        of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.); and
            (4) fully comply with the requirements of section 810(a) of 
        the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3610(a)).

SEC. 5. GRANTS TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES TO STUDY HOUSING 
              DISCRIMINATION.

    (a) Grant Program.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall carry out a competitive matching grant program to assist public 
and private non-profit organizations in--
            (1) conducting studies that examine issues regarding 
        housing discrimination and segregation and the Fair Housing 
        Act, including--
                    (A) the causes of housing discrimination and 
                segregation, including their effects on members of 
                protected classes under the Fair Housing Act, and their 
                effects on education, poverty, economic development, 
                health, and other socioeconomic factors;
                    (B) the incidence, causes, and effects of housing 
                discrimination and segregation based on personal 
                characteristics not protected under the Fair Housing 
                Act, including--
                            (i) veteran and military status; and
                            (ii) source of income;
                    (C) the ways in which the use of algorithms and 
                artificial intelligence in the housing and mortgage 
                lending markets impact the availability of housing for 
                protected classes under the Fair Housing Act, including 
                the use of digital and online platforms in the 
                advertising and provision of housing and other services 
                covered under the Fair Housing Act; or
                    (D) any additional topics of study related to the 
                implementation and expansion of the Fair Housing Act; 
                or
            (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions that 
        will help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and 
        segregation.
A grant under this section may provide funding to an organization for 
only activities under paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) or for activities 
under both paragraph (1) and (2).
    (b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, a public or private nonprofit organization shall--
            (1) submit an application to the Secretary of Housing and 
        Urban Development, containing--
                    (A) the issues the applicant will address and a 
                justification for the need to address such issues;
                    (B) the applicant's experience in formulating or 
                carrying out programs or activities described in this 
                section; and
                    (C) the geographical area and period of time to be 
                studied;
            (2) agree to provide matching non-Federal funds for 10 
        percent of the total amount of the grant, which matching funds 
        may include monetary donations and items donated on an in-kind 
        contribution basis; and
            (3) meet the requirements of a qualified fair housing 
        enforcement organization, as such term is defined in section 
        561(h) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 
        U.S.C. 3616a(h)).
    (c) Partnerships With Academic Institutions.--A public or private 
nonprofit organization applying for a grant under this section may 
partner with an academic or educational organization or institution for 
the purpose of carrying out activities assisted with such grant 
amounts.
    (d) Report.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall 
submit a report to the Congress on a biennial basis that provides a 
detailed summary of the results of the comprehensive studies and pilot 
projects carried out under subsection (a), together with any 
recommendations or proposals for legislative or administrative actions 
to address any issues raised by such studies. The Secretary may submit 
the reports required under this subsection as part of the reports 
prepared in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (6) of section 808(e) of 
the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3608(e)) and section 561(j) of the 
Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616a(j)).
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section $5,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.

SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.

    None of the funds made available under this Act, or the amendments 
made by this Act, may be used for any political activities, political 
advocacy, or lobbying (as such terms are defined by Circular A-122 of 
the Office of Management and Budget, entitled ``Cost Principles for 
Non-Profit Organizations''), or for expenses for travel to engage in 
political activities or preparation of or provision of advice on tax 
returns.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 548

116th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 149

                          [Report No. 116-664]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of 
nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives 
                    Program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           December 17, 2020

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed