[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 22 (Thursday, February 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO BAN HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST 
                        MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 5, 2003

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call to the attention of my 
colleagues a bill I have introduced today to prohibit discrimination in 
the rental of housing to members of the armed forces.
  It has been reported in the press that managers of certain apartment 
properties in my home state of New York have required renters to sign 
an affidavit stating that they are not in the military. This practice, 
aimed at members of the armed forces who might be called off to war, is 
an outrageous form of discrimination, particularly at a time when young 
Americans are on their way overseas to defend our country.
  This legislation is meant as a deterrent to this kind of practice by 
any landlord or property management company anywhere in the country. 
The bill would make it a federal crime to discriminate in rentals to 
members of the armed forces with a penalty of up to a year 
imprisonment.
  The reason mentioned for requiring the affidavit is to relieve 
landlords of the potential need to seek court orders to evict military 
families who may have defaulted on their rent.
  I have never before heard this concern raised by a landlord. But the 
bottom line is that discrimination against individuals or an entire 
class of people cannot be defended under any circumstance. In New York 
City, this practice is already outlawed under local anti-discrimination 
laws. However, there remains a glaring absence in federal and state law 
of the protections provided for in my bill, thus leaving members of the 
military in most of New York State and the rest of the country 
vulnerable.
  At this time of crisis in our country, in which we are asking so much 
of our military, the governing principle should be one of shared 
sacrifice--and certainly not discrimination.

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