[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1621 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1621
To restore the fair housing mission of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 6, 2025
Ms. Warren introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To restore the fair housing mission of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Restoring Fair Housing Protections
Eliminated by Trump Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The current Administration has taken several steps that
seriously undermine fair housing protections for people in the
United States.
(2) On February 10, 2025, the Secretary announced that he
would halt all current and future enforcement of the Equal
Access Rule of the Department that protects persons who are
experiencing homelessness from discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity while residing in
shelters and while receiving homeless services.
(3) On February 11, 2025, the Secretary stated in an
interview regarding the halting of Equal Access Rule
enforcement that, ``We want to uphold, first, what the bible
says--that there's male and female'' and also stated that
Department and the Office of Management and Budget ``are going
after AFFH''.
(4) On February 12, 2025, the Secretary submitted an
interim final rule about affirmatively furthering fair housing
to the Office of Management and Budget for review.
(5) On February 12, 2025, the Secretary submitted a
proposed Equal Access Rule to the Office of Management and
Budget for review.
(6) On February 14, 2025, Bloomberg Law reported that the
Trump Administration plans to eliminate 50 percent of the staff
at the Department.
(7) On February 26, 2025, ProPublica reported that the
United States DOGE Service (commonly referred to as the
``Department of Government Efficiency'' or ``DOGE'') was given
access to confidential fair housing discrimination complaints.
(8) On February 26, 2025, the Secretary announced the
rescission of the rule to affirmatively further fair housing
and announced the Department will now rely on localities to
self-certify that they comply with the law, even if the
locality has not shown to the Department that it has
affirmatively furthered fair housing, through an interim final
rule issued on March 3, 2025, entitled ``Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing Revisions''.
(9) On February 25, 2025, the Secretary, at the direction
of the United States DOGE Service (commonly referred to as the
``Department of Government Efficiency'' or ``DOGE''), canceled
78 Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants that private
nonprofit fair housing organizations use to investigate and
root out illegal housing discrimination.
(10) On March 13, 2025, Fair Housing Initiatives Program
grantees filed a class action lawsuit in a United States
District Court.
(11) On March 25, 2025, the United States District Court in
the District of Massachusetts granted a temporary restraining
order directing the Secretary to reinstate the 78 Fair Housing
Initiatives Program grants.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' has the meaning given the term in section 238(g)
of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 2358 note).
(2) Covered housing.--The term ``covered housing''--
(A) with respect to a complaint alleging a
violation of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et
seq.), means--
(i) housing assisted under the program for
supportive housing for the elderly under
section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12
U.S.C. 1701q), including the direct loans
program under such section 202 as in effect
before the date of enactment of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (12
U.S.C. 12701 et seq.);
(ii) housing assisted under the program for
supportive housing for persons with
disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 8013);
(iii) housing assisted under the program
for housing opportunities for people with AIDS/
HIV under subtitle D of title VIII of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.);
(iv) housing assisted under any of the
programs under subtitles B through D of title
IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.);
(v) housing assisted under the HOME
Investment Partnerships program under subtitle
A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et
seq.);
(vi) housing assisted under the rent
supplement program under section 101 of the
Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 (12
U.S.C. 1701s);
(vii) housing financed by a loan or
mortgage that is insured under section 203 of
the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709);
(viii) housing financed by a loan or
mortgage that is--
(I) secured by a first or
subordinate lien on a residential real
property, including any such secured
loan, the proceeds of which are used to
prepay or pay off an existing loan
secured by the same property; and
(II) purchased or securitized by
the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation or the Federal National
Mortgage Association;
(ix) housing insured, assisted, or held by
the Secretary or a State or State agency under
the multifamily rental assistance program under
section 236 of the National Housing Act (12
U.S.C. 1715z-1);
(x) public housing assisted under title I
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
(xi) a dwelling unit assisted under the
Housing Choice Voucher program for rental
assistance under section 8(o) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437f(o));
(xii) housing assisted with project-based
rental assistance provided under section 8 of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f);
(xiii) housing assisted with funds from the
Housing Trust Fund as established under section
1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises
Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12
U.S.C. 4568);
(xiv) housing assisted under any of the
rural housing assistance programs under section
514, 515, 516, 533, 538, or 542 of the Housing
Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, 1486, 1490m,
1490p-2, 1490r);
(xv) any housing project for which equity
is provided through any low-income housing tax
credit pursuant to section 42 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986;
(xvi) housing assisted under the
Comprehensive Service Programs for Homeless
Veterans program under subchapter II of chapter
20 of title 38, United States Code;
(xvii) housing and facilities assisted
under the grant program for homeless veterans
with special needs under section 2061 of title
38, United States Code;
(xviii) permanent housing for which
assistance is provided under the program for
financial assistance for supportive services
for very low-income veteran families in
permanent housing under section 2044 of title
38, United States Code;
(xix) any other housing assisted by any
housing program administered by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs;
(xx) housing assisted by the Community
Development Financial Institutions Fund
established under the Community Development
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994
(12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.);
(xxi) housing assisted under the
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act (42
U.S.C. 8101 et seq.);
(xxii) housing assisted under title I of
the Housing and Community Development Act of
1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), including
housing assisted with amounts provided during a
disaster as described in such Act;
(xxiii) transitional or short-term housing
assisted under the grant program under section
40299 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994
(34 U.S.C. 12351);
(xxiv) housing assisted under such other
Federal housing programs as identified for the
purposes of section 7 of this Act; and
(xxv) Federally subsidized dwelling units
that provide affordable housing to low-income
persons by means of restricted rents or rental
assistance, as identified for the purposes of
section 7 of this Act; and
(B) with respect to a complaint alleging a
violation of the Violence Against Women Act (34 U.S.C.
12291 et seq.), means a covered housing program, as
defined in section 41411 of such Act (34 U.S.C. 12491).
(3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
SEC. 4. MISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
Section 2 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act
(42 U.S.C. 3531) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``; mission of
department'' after ``purpose'';
(2) by inserting ``(a) Purpose.--'' after ``Sec. 2.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Mission of Department.--The mission of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development shall be to create strong, sustainable,
inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. The
Department of Housing and Urban Development shall work to strengthen
the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers, meet
the need for quality affordable rental homes, utilize housing as a
platform for improving quality of life, build inclusive and sustainable
communities free from discrimination, and transform the way the
Department does business.''.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
REGULATION.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall carry out the following:
(1) Repeal the interim final rule issued on March 3, 2025,
entitled ``Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Revisions''.
(2) Issue a rule that defines ``affirmatively furthering
fair housing'' in the following manner:
(A) ``Affirmatively furthering fair housing''
means--
(i) taking meaningful actions, in addition
to combating discrimination, that overcome
patterns of segregation and foster inclusive
communities free from barriers that restrict
access to opportunity based on protected
characteristics; and
(ii) in particular, taking meaningful
actions that, taken together, address
significant disparities in housing needs and in
access to opportunity, replacing segregated
living patterns with truly integrated and
balanced living patterns, transforming racially
or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty
into areas of opportunity, and fostering and
maintaining compliance with civil rights and
fair housing laws.
(B) The duty to affirmatively further fair housing
extends to all of a program participant's activities
and programs relating to housing and urban development.
SEC. 6. REVIEW OF ONLINE COMPLAINTS OF VIOLATIONS OF FAIR HOUSING ACT.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that includes--
(1) a review of the complaints filed with the Secretary
under section 810 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3610)
during the 5-year period preceding the date of enactment of
this Act that alleged a discriminatory housing practice
involving a digital platform or artificial intelligence,
including any artificial intelligence used for--
(A) advertisement delivery and targeting;
(B) tenant screening;
(C) automated mortgage underwriting;
(D) dynamic pricing of real estate; and
(E) real estate listings; and
(2) an analysis of trends and risks related to--
(A) discrimination that occurs in connection with
the use of digital platforms to rent or purchase
housing;
(B) the sufficiency of the Fair Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) to remedy discrimination during
the rental or purchase of housing through digital
platforms; and
(C) steps the Secretary plans to take to address
that discrimination.
SEC. 7. PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE FOR FAIR HOUSING COMPLAINTS.
The Secretary shall develop, and update on a quarterly basis, a
database that is publicly available on a website of the Department that
includes, subject to applicable confidentiality constraints, the
following:
(1) The total number of complaints alleging violations of
the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) that were
received by the Secretary, disaggregated with respect to both
number and percentage, by each protected class established
under such Act.
(2) The number and percentage of the total number of
complaints that allege violations of the Violence Against Women
Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291 et seq.).
(3) The number and percentage of the total number of
complaints referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) that--
(A) were made by persons experiencing homelessness;
(B) were made by tenants; and
(C) were made by persons who have applied for
covered housing, disaggregated by each specific type of
covered housing for which such person applied.
(4) For each State, the number and percentage of the total
number of complaints referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) that
were made by residents of such State.
(5) The number and percentage of the total number
complaints referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) that alleged
that the complainant was retaliated against after reporting the
alleged violation and, of such number, the number and
percentage that alleged that the complainant was evicted for
any retaliatory reason.
(6) The status of the complaints referred to in paragraphs
(1) and (2), including a detailed description of the
resolutions and remedies provided and, for complaints that were
administratively closed, of the reasons for such closures.
(7) The number and percentage of the total number of
complaints referred to in paragraph (1) that were received by--
(A) State agencies assisted under the Fair Housing
Assistance Program authorized under section 810 of the
Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3610); and
(B) local agencies assisted under the Fair Housing
Initiatives Program authorized under section 817 of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 3616).
(8) The number and percentage of the total number of
complaints referred to in paragraph (1) that ended in a
reasonable cause charge by the Secretary or were referred to
the Attorney General by the Secretary.
(9) The number and percentage of the total number of
complaints referred to in paragraph (1) received by the
Attorney General that were not referred to the Attorney General
by the Secretary.
<all>