SUMMARY: Tomorrow, June 9, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on “rider” amendments to the Transportation-HUD (“T-HUD”) annual appropriations bill that would limit federal funding for fair housing enforcement. Last week largely along party line votes, the House already passed hostile amendments to defund fair housing programs key to NCRC members (see “Votes Last Week” below for a description). Democrats in the U.S. Senate, however, plan to block all House appropriations bills in an effort to reverse automatic, across-the-board cuts (‘sequestration”) first implemented in 2013. President Obama has also threatened to veto House appropriation bills that, among other things, cut funding to critical housing programs.
NCRC/MEMBER ACTION: Call the U.S. Capitol at 202-225-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative. Urge your Rep. to:
- OPPOSE Rep. Scott Garrett’s (R-NJ) amendment that would prohibit funding for HUD to enforce its disparate impact rule.
- OPPOSE Rep. Paul Gosar’s (R-AZ) amendment that would block funding for HUD to finish its rule on “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.”
VOTES LAST WEEK:
The House has already passed appropriations amendments to defund programs critical to NCRC Members:
- HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP): The House passed an amendment by Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) to prohibit funding for FHIP’s Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI). The amendment was added to the T-HUD appropriations bill and passed on a largely party-line basis on June 4 by a vote of 224-198 (Republicans: 224-16; Democrats: 0-182).
o By voice vote, the House also passed an amendment that switches $28 million in funds from private enforcement to another part of the FHIP that funds state and local government agencies (e.g. Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP)). According to HUD, that part of FHIP hasn’t been funded for years because FHAP funds that have been appropriated are more than adequate.
- HUD’s Disparate Impact Rule: The House also passed an amendment by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) that would block funding for the U.S. Dept. of Justice to enforce HUD’s disparate impact rule. The rule formalizedthe application of the doctrine that fair housing liability under the Fair Housing Act extends to housing practices that may appear neutral on their face but have discriminatory effects. The amendment was added to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill and passed largely along party-lines on June 3 by a vote of 232-196 (Republicans: 232-11; Democrats: 0-185).
