119-hr3086

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3086 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3086

 To restore the fair housing mission of the Department of Housing and 
 Urban Development, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 29, 2025

 Ms. Waters introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
 Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
 within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 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 the American people's fair housing 
 protections.

    (2) On February 10, 2025, the Secretary of Housing and 
 Urban Development announced that he would halt all current and 
 future enforcement of the Departments's Equal Access Rule that 
 protect 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, Secretary Scott Turner 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 of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of 
 Management and Budget ``are going after AFFH''.

    (4) On February 12, 2025, the Secretary of Housing and 
 Urban Development 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 of Housing and 
 Urban Development 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 of Housing and Urban Development.

    (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 of Housing and 
 Urban Development 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 of Housing and 
 Urban Development, 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 of Housing and Urban Development 
 to reinstate the 78 Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants.

SEC. 3. 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 new subsection:
 ``

    (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 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. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING 
 REGULATION.

 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, not later 
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section--

    (1) repeal the interim final rule issued on March 3, 2025, 
 entitled ``Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Revisions''; 
 and

    (2) issue a rule that defines ``affirmatively further fair 
 housing'' as 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. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair 
 housing means 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. 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. 5. REVIEW OF ONLINE COMPLAINTS OF VIOLATIONS OF FAIR HOUSING ACT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall submit to the Congress a report which contains--

    (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 the 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 to 
 remedy discrimination during the rental or purchase of 
 housing through digital platforms; and
            (C) steps the Secretary plans to take to address 
 such discrimination.

    (b) Artificial Intelligence Defined.--In this section, 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 (Public Law 115-232).

SEC. 6. PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE FOR FAIR HOUSING COMPLAINTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall develop, and update on a quarterly basis, a database that is 
publicly available on a website of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, which includes, subject to applicable confidentiality 
constraints, the following:

    (1) The total number of complaints alleging violations of 
 the Fair Housing Act that were received by the Secretary of 
 Housing and Urban Development, 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.

    (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 of Housing and Urban 
 Development or were referred to the Attorney General by the 
 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

    (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 of Housing and Urban Development.

    (b) Covered Housing.--In this section, the term ``covered 
housing''--

    (1) with respect to a complaint alleging a violation of the 
 Fair Housing Act, means--
        (A) 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 enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
 National Affordable Housing Act (Public Law 101-625; 
 November 28, 1990);
        (B) 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);
            (C) 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.);
            (D) 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.);
        (E) housing assisted under the HOME Investments 
 Partnerships program under subtitle A of title II of 
 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act 
 (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.);
        (F) housing assisted under the rent supplement 
 program under 

section 101 of the Housing and Urban 
 Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s);
        (G) housing financed by a loan or mortgage that is 
 insured under 

section 203 of the National Housing Act 
 (12 U.S.C. 1709);
        (H) 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;
            (I) 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);
        (J) public housing assisted under title I of the 
 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et 
 seq.);
        (K) 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) );
            (L) housing assisted with project-based rental 
 assistance provided under 

section 8 of the United 
 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);
            (M) 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);
        (N) 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);
        (O) 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 (26 U.S.C. 42);
        (P) housing assisted under the Comprehensive 
 Service Programs for Homeless Veterans program under 
 subchapter II of chapter 20 of title 38, United States 
 Code (38 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);
        (Q) housing and facilities assisted under the grant 
 program for homeless veterans with special needs under 
 

section 2061 of title 38, United States Code;
        (R) 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;
        (S) any other housing assisted by any housing 
 program administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
 Affairs;
        (T) 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.);
        (U) housing assisted under the Neighborhood 
 Reinvestment Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.);
            (V) 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;
        (W) transitional or short-term housing assisted 
 under the grant program under chapter 11 of subtitle B 
 of Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 
 1994;
            (X) housing assisted under such other Federal 
 housing programs as identified for the purposes of this 
 section; and
        (Y) 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 this section; and

    (2) with respect to a complaint alleging a violation of the 
 Violence Against Women Act, means a covered housing program (as 
 that term is defined in 

section 41411 of such Act (34 U.S.C. 
 12491)).
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