The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is calling on Congress and the Biden administration to restore fair housing spending levels that were jettisoned in the recently completed federal debt ceiling agreement.
“The National Fair Housing Alliance is extremely concerned that the debt ceiling agreement passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President rescinds $3.3 million in budget authority to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that had previously been set aside for local fair housing enforcement agencies as part of the American Rescue Plan Act,” said NFHA Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey. “This is deeply troubling. As congressional appropriators begin the final work of deciding the exact spending levels for federal agencies, NFHA again urges Congress to support increased fair housing funding recommended in letters sent to appropriators by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Al Green (D-TX).”
Bailey noted the legislators’ letters recommended $75.7 million for the Fair Housing Initiative Program, $36.3 million for the Fair Housing Assistance Program and $153 million for HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equitable Opportunity.
“For weeks, the nation’s economic health lay in the balance as negotiations to raise the debt ceiling limit were marred by political jockeying,” Bailey added. “Now that a debt ceiling agreement is in place, the focus should be squarely on advancing measures that improve the lives of everyday people and protecting people with disabilities, families with children, communities of color, LGBTQIA individuals, and more from housing discrimination.”
Bailey also pointed that the Biden budget sent to Congress a few months ago “doubled down on the administration’s promise to make racial equity a centerpiece of its domestic policy, and it recognized the deep fair and affordable housing crisis our nation continues to face. Appropriators can continue this important work by ensuring increased and adequate funding for local fair housing enforcement.”
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