Reps. Cleaver, Green, Waters, Clay & Beatty Introduce Fair Housing Resolution

Statement

This week, United States Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Al Green (D-TX), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO), and Joyce Beatty (D-OH) introduced H. Res. 946, recognizing April as Fair Housing Month.

"52 years ago, the Civil Rights Movement, led by icons such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, reached its apex when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law," said Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. "Whilst this landmark legislation and the Civil Rights Movement furthered our nation's progress toward equality for all, the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated vividly the inequalities our nation still faces in regards to housing, health care, and economic mobility. This resolution is in honor of the men and women who fought for true justice under the law; a reminder of the work unfinished; and a call for unified action to eliminate the disparities laid bare for all to see during the current public health crisis."

"The Fair Housing Act was the culmination of efforts orchestrated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who ardently supported fair housing and envisioned a society free of discrimination. Unfortunately, Dr. King was assassinated before he could see this landmark legislation enacted, but on April 11, 1968 -- a week after his assassination, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law," said Congressman Al Green. "In honor of the 52nd anniversary of this monumental step toward establishing equal opportunity in housing for all Americans, I and my colleagues in Congress--Representatives William Lacy Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, and Joyce Beatty--have introduced a Fair Housing Resolution."

"I am pleased to join Subcommittee Chair Green in commemorating the Fair Housing Act and the month of April as Fair Housing Month," said Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters. "In 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act to make housing discrimination illegal based on protected classes that include race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status, and disability. Unfortunately, 52 years later, housing discrimination and segregation continue to persist at alarming rates. In 2018 alone, there were over 31,000 housing discrimination complaints filed in the United States, the highest level ever reported by the National Fair Housing Alliance since it began compiling national complaint data 25 years ago. As Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, I am fighting every day to strengthen and protect fair housing regulations in this country and provide relief for communities through equitable allocation of federal funding during the COVID-19 pandemic."