National Fair Housing Alliance Issues Statement Saluting Secretary Fudge’s Significant Leadership following Announcement of her Retirement and Resignation as HUD Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2024
Contact: Janelle Brevard | jbrevard@nationalfairhousing.org

Washington, D.C. — Today, Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA™), issued the following statement on the announced retirement and resignation of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Marcia L. Fudge.

“With tremendous gratitude, we at NFHA acknowledge the resignation of Secretary Marcia L. Fudge from her role as the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Secretary Fudge has been a tireless advocate for fair housing and a champion for equitable urban and rural development throughout her distinguished career, making significant strides in advancing HUD’s mission. As a lawyer and former member of Congress from Ohio, Secretary Fudge brought a wealth of experience, passion, and a resolute commitment to advancing fair housing in her leadership of HUD and has been instrumental in shaping policies aimed at fostering vibrant, inclusive communities that provide all people with the resources and amenities necessary to thrive. Under Secretary Fudge’s leadership, HUD took many important actions, including the following pivotal steps:

• Worked with Congress to restore HUD’s staffing and resources as the agency was gutted under the former administration as well as shoring up funding to enable the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity to be effective.

• Partnered with Vice President Harris in establishing and co-led the first of its kind interagency task force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) with a goal of ending bias in home valuations.

• Steered the Biden-Harris Administration in confirming fair-housing committed nominees to serve as the heads of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Ginnie Mae, and Federal Housing Administration. This is the first time in history that these agencies were all led by women leaders at the same time. Secretary Fudge also appointed noted fair housing movement attorney, Demetria McCain, as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO).

• Restored critical fair housing rules such as the Restoring HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Standard Rule (Final Rule), which rescinds HUD’s 2020 rule governing Fair Housing Act disparate impact claims and restores the 2013 discriminatory effects rule. This action reinstated a key fair housing rule to advance justice and fairness for all. HUD also sent its final Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule to the Office of Budget and Management for its review. The AFFH proposed rule is poised to be a viable tool in helping jurisdictions increase the supply of fair and affordable housing and ensure every community is resourced with the amenities people need to thrive.

• Issued precedent-setting guidance clarifying that Special Purpose Credit Programs, implemented properly and in accordance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, do not violate the Fair Housing Act. This guidance helped open the doors for thousands of creditworthy consumers to be assessed for mortgage credit based on their rental housing payment history and other sound underwriting criteria.

• Ensured HUD’s rules and regulations centered equity and the responsibility to ensure federal housing and community development funding is used to create vibrant communities for everyone, which has assisted millions of people of color, women, people with disabilities, families with children, LGBTQ+ persons and more with fairer rental and homeownership opportunities.

• Worked with the Congress to secure necessary funding for local fair housing enforcement agencies to conduct the important work of continuing to be the first responders combatting over 4 million incidences of discrimination annually.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Secretary Fudge for her strong leadership, deep compassion, dedicated service and unwavering commitment to the American people and the principles of fairness and justice. Her legacy will undoubtedly continue to inspire our ongoing efforts to promote fair housing and build inclusive, vibrant, well-resourced communities. On behalf of the National Fair Housing Alliance, I want to express our deepest appreciation to Secretary Fudge for her impactful contributions to the advancement of fair housing and civil rights. We wish her the very best in her well-deserved retirement, confident that her influence will endure as we strive to create a more just and equitable future for all.

We also look forward to continuing to partner with HUD Deputy Secretary Todman in her new role as HUD’s Acting Secretary. Like Secretary Fudge, Deputy Secretary Todman is a true champion for fair housing.”

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for over 170 fair housing and justice-centered organizations and individuals throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.