NLIHC Action Alert: Tell Congress to Protect Fair Housing Rules - February 24, 2017
Tell Congress to Protect Fair Housing Rules
Sign Letter Today!
Sign A National Letter Urging Congress To Stop Attacks on Fair Housing
We have just learned that the House of Representatives may bring the FY17 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) spending bill to the floor for a vote next week, raising concerns that harmful amendments will be introduced.
NLIHC, the National Fair Housing Alliance, PolicyLink, and the ACLU are working together to circulate a national sign-on letter urging Congress to oppose any amendments that would weaken fair housing laws by repealing HUD's Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule.
Please sign the letter by the February 28 deadline.
Background
Decades of federal housing policies reinforced housing segregation and discrimination, and the impact of these harmful policies are still evident today. Although federal law has required that states and communities take affirmative steps to end racial segregation in housing since 1968, HUD provided little guidance to communities about how to fulfill their fair housing obligations. The new AFFH rule was developed after an extensive, years-longconsultation process with public officials in cities, counties, states, and public housing agencies to give states and communities the tools they need to make informed decisions about where and how to invest public resources and how best to comply with federal law.
Why Is This Important
Over the last several years, Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has attempted to roll back gains in fair housing by offering amendments to prevent HUD from implementing and enforcing its AFFH rule. It is likely that Mr. Gosar will file an amendment that is in line with H.R. 482, the "Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017", a bill he recently introduced. NLIHC strongly opposes H.R. 482.
Such an amendment would set back efforts to overcome housing discrimination and segregation, take away new tools that help communities better target federal resources to connect their residents to opportunity, and eliminate a wide array of public data that directly informs housing, education, transportation, health, census, environmental, criminal justice, and other efforts.
How You Can Take Action
Please join us to stop this attack on HUD's AFFH rule by signing onto the letter and circulating this alert to your local, state, and national networks!
The deadline to sign on is February 28.