National Fair Housing Alliance Urges Senate to Quickly Confirm Biden Nominee to Lead HUD
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2021
Contact: Izzy Woodruff | 202-898-1661 | IWoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org
National Fair Housing Alliance Urges Senate to Quickly Confirm Biden Nominee to Lead HUD
Washington, D.C. — Today, Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), issued a statement following the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on the nomination of Rep. Marcia L. Fudge to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):
“NFHA strongly endorses the confirmation of Secretary-Designate Marcia L. Fudge to head HUD. After today’s nomination hearing, it is clear that she is the ideal candidate to serve as HUD Secretary at this moment in history. The Senate must immediately confirm her so HUD can swiftly reverse and remedy the Trump Administration’s harmful attacks on fair housing.
“Secretary-Designate Fudge will bring a wealth of experience as a public servant to the role of HUD Secretary. She is a staunch advocate for civil rights and, throughout her career, has been committed to ensuring equitable access to resources like credit, education, health, and clean environments, which tie in closely with housing. Today, we were extremely encouraged to hear about her commitment to fair housing specifically and her plans to repeal the previous administration’s “disparate impact rule,” strengthen fair housing protections, expand access to affordable housing, address the homeownership gap, provide rental assistance to those at risk of eviction, and more.
“In addition to the promise of Secretary-Designate Fudge’s experience and dedication, we are encouraged by the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts thus far to ensure that achieving fair and equitable housing remains at the top of its agenda. These efforts include signing an executive order on day one to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government, and taking multiple other executive actions to address housing discrimination, private prisons, tribal governments, and more. It is promising to see intent to follow through on these critical issues.
“With over 4 million instances of housing discrimination each year and increases in housing-related hate crimes over the past several years, we are eager to work with the Biden-Harris Administration and Secretary-Designate Fudge to make fair housing a reality for everyone and advance racial equity. HUD and other federal agencies must fully enforce the nation’s civil rights laws and rebuild public confidence in the government’s ability to protect and defend fair housing and fair lending rights.”
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About The National Fair Housing Alliance
Founded in 1988, NFHA is a consortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations and state and local civil rights agencies from throughout the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NFHA works to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through leadership, education, outreach, membership services, public policy initiatives, community development, advocacy, and enforcement.