NLIHC joined the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and other national organizations in submitting a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urging the senator to prioritize the confirmation of David Uejio as HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). The letter expresses deep concern about the fact that the position is still vacant and explains the necessity of combating discrimination in the housing market.
The letter highlights the ways that HUD’s FHEO Assistant Secretary is an essential leadership role. The assistant secretary is responsible for managing HUD’s extensive fair housing and civil rights activities, including but not limited to:
- Ensuring HUD’s administrative complaint and investigation processes effectively serve victims of discrimination.
- Initiating agency complaints into systemic forms of housing and lending discrimination and changing market behavior.
- Ensuring HUD’s own programs comply with the “Fair Housing Act” and other civil rights laws.
As the nation grapples with the ongoing housing crisis and the continuing effects of the pandemic, the role is critical to combating housing discrimination and ensuring access to decent, safe, accessible, and affordable housing. In the last year, NFHA saw a 29% increase in complaints of discriminatory harassment, which are concentrated most heavily among people with disabilities, women, and people of color. NFHA found that 54.6% of all reported complaints of housing discrimination are based on disability status and 16.8% are based on race.
NLIHC believes that everyone should have access to decent, safe, accessible, and affordable housing without having to worry about being subject to discrimination based on their identity. NLIHC is proud to join NFHA and other national housing advocacy organizations in urging Congress to confirm David Uejio as HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO).
Read the letter at: https://bit.ly/3uj0QN4