Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) cosponsored the Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2023 to protect veterans and working families from housing discrimination. Cortez Masto has been a strong advocate for combatting housing discrimination, leading comprehensive legislation to fully fund nationwide fair housing efforts and reinstate federal housing protections to ensure lenders are held accountable for discriminatory lending practices.
“I’m doing all I can to protect Nevada veterans and working families from housing discrimination,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This legislation will help ensure that our veterans and working families can afford a safe and stable home, and I’ll continue fighting to provide everyone in Nevada and across the country with access to affordable quality housing and economic opportunity.”
Nearly 2.3 million veterans and low-income households use Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) to pay rent, but there are no federal protections to prevent individuals from being denied housing based on source of income. Many veterans and low-income families have reported discrimination from landlords when using vouchers to pay their rent in states like Nevada where there are no source of income protections.
Specifically, the Fair Housing Improvement Act would:
- Expand protections by adding source of income and veteran status to the list of protected classes under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, giving more individuals and families access to affordable housing; and
- Prevent landlords from denying housing to individuals who use Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers, benefits received through Social Security, income received by a court order, payment from a trust or guardian, or any other lawful source of income.
The bill is supported by Catholic Charities, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals, National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Women’s Law Center, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, American Bar Association, and 60 more organizations.
Full text of the bill is available HERE.
Cortez Masto has spent her career fighting for Nevada veterans, and she’s led the charge in lowering housing costs and keeping Nevadans in their homes. She wrote and passed the Brian Neuman Act to remove roadblocks for disabled veterans accessing their benefits, passed the PACT Act to ensure veterans suffering from toxic exposure in the line of duty get the medical care they need, and worked across the aisle to get legislation helping veterans exposed to Agent Orange and expanding benefits for women veterans signed into law. She delivered federal funding that is providing 7,129 new affordable units to Nevada families this year with a similar number expected next year – nearly double the state’s pre-pandemic amount.
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