Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released an interim final rule restoring key provisions of HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, which implements a critical element of the Fair Housing Act but had been gutted by the Trump Administration:
“More than 50 years ago, we made a commitment to promote fair housing in our communities – but the Trump Administration broke that promise,” Brown said. “Today’s rule is a first step to restoring Fair Housing Act protections, but there’s more work to do to finally fulfill our commitment under the law. I look forward to continuing to work with Secretary Fudge and the Biden-Harris Administration to promote equity, address discrimination in our housing system, and finally close the racial homeownership gap.”
Brown fought the Trump Administration’s continuous efforts to undermine the rule. In March 2020, Brown led 36 of his colleagues in a letter urging HUD to withdraw a proposal to undermine the rule and commit to implementing HUD’s 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule. In July 2020, he issued a statement condemning the Trump Administration’s final rule. He also released a report detailing the Trump Administration’s systemic efforts to roll back fair housing protections, including by redefining the obligation to affirmatively further fair housing.
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