Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contact: Trisha Miller
202-662-8600
May 13, 2005

Lawyers' Committee Opposes Federal Legislation That Would Gut Civil Rights Aspects of Housing Program

WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, May 10, 2005, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Poverty and Race Research Action Council, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and the National Housing Law Project submitted a comment letter to the House Financial Services Committee opposing H.R. 1999, the “State and Local Housing Flexibility Act of 2005.” Among other things, the bill would place new obstacles in the path of low-income and minority families seeking housing opportunities outside predominantly minority, low-income areas; result in the transfer of vouchers from low-income black and Hispanic families; and eliminate essential affordability requirements in the program.

At the Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, May 11th, several members of the committee raised concerns with the bill. In particular, Ranking Committee Member Barney Frank (D-MA), cited the Lawyers’ Committee’s coalition letter, raising strong objections based on fair housing and civil rights concerns. He criticized provisions limiting housing choice in the voucher program, which would lead to housing segregation and greater concentrations of poverty in minority neighborhoods. Congressman Frank also objected to a new income targeting system that harms “the poorest of the poor,” resulting in an increase in homelessness. Congressman Shays (R-CT) agreed, stating the bill was essentially “pushing the [voucher] program off a cliff” and passing the buck to local governments and housing authorities.

A member of the coalition opposing the bill, Phillip Tegeler, Executive Director of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, will testify before the Committee next Tuesday, May 17th, to discuss the fair housing and civil rights implications of the bill.

The Lawyers’ Committee is an over forty-year old nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.

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