Housing Fairness Act of 2020
Latest action · Dec 17, 2020 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 548.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 3, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Housing Fairness Act of 2020
This bill provides for testing and investigations to detect housing discrimination and awards grants to study the causes and effects of such discrimination.
Specifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must conduct regional or national testing programs and investigations to (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of prospective renters, homebuyers, or mortgage borrowers; (2) measure patterns of differential treatment because of the status of a renter, homebuyer, or borrower as a member of the protected classes under the Fair Housing Act (i.e., race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin); and (3) measure the prevalence, nature, and extent of such discriminatory practices covered under the Act.
Furthermore, the bill (1) eliminates restrictions on the use of fair housing initiative program-earned income received by qualified fair housing enforcement organizations after the grant period for such organizations ends, (2) increases funding for the fair housing initiatives program in FY2021-FY2031, and (3) requires HUD to study and report on the feasibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of converting the program into a specified noncompetitive, entitlement program.
Additionally, HUD shall award grants to public and private entities to study housing discrimination, including the causes and effects of such discrimination.
Finally, the bill prohibits the use of funds made available by this bill for any political activities, political advocacy, lobbying, such travel-related expenses, or for preparation of or provision of advice on tax returns.
Cosponsors 10
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 3, 2019 to Sep 17, 2019.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Al Lawson, Jr. | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-GA | David Scott | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-WA | Denny Heck | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-MO | Emanuel Cleaver | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-GU | Michael F. Q. San Nicolas | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-MO | Wm. Lacy Clay | Apr 3, 2019 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Sep 10, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Antonio Delgado | Sep 17, 2019 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Financial Services Committee | Referred Jan 3, 2019Markup Feb 28, 2020Reported Dec 17, 2020 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 17, 2020Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 116-664.
- Dec 17, 2020Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 548.
- Feb 28, 2020Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Feb 28, 2020Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 33 - 25.
- Feb 27, 2020Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jan 3, 2019Introduced in House
- Jan 3, 2019Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jul 1, 2020H.R. 149, Housing Fairness Act of 2020As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on February 28, 2020
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 1, January 3, 2019, page H215.
Printed hearings 3
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 116-99 | OVERSIGHT OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT'S AND THE FEDERAL RESERVE'S PANDEMIC RESPONSE135 pages | Financial Services Committee | Jun 30, 2020 |
| Serial No. 116-45 | EXAMINING DISCRIMINATION AND OTHER BARRIERS TO CONSUMER CREDIT, HOMEOWNERSHIP, AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN TEXAS120 pages | Financial Services Committee | Sep 4, 2019 |
| Serial No. 116-12 | THE FAIR HOUSING ACT: REVIEWING EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION AND PROMOTE OPPORTUNITY IN HOUSING185 pages | Financial Services Committee | Apr 2, 2019 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 68 | Housing Fairness Act of 2021 | Reintroduced Bill | Jun 22, 2022 |
| HR 149 | Housing Fairness Act of 2017 | Reintroduction of | Jan 3, 2017 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Housing Fairness Act of 2019
- Veterans, Women, Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2019
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- Housing Fairness Act of 2020
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Housing and Community Development.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Disability and health-based discrimination
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Housing and Community Development
- Housing and community development funding
- Housing discrimination
- Housing finance and home ownership
- Military personnel and dependents
- Racial and ethnic relations
- Religion
- Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
- Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 17, 2020Reported in House
- Jan 3, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
