HUD Cuts Will Drastically Cut Government and Nonprofit Efforts to Reduce Housing Discrimination

The Trump administration’s cuts to fair housing funding have raised serious concerns about the ability to enforce civil rights laws and help people find affordable housing. It will make it harder for Americans to find safe and affordable places to live and may allow even more housing discrimination to go unchecked, according to current and former government employees, fair housing experts, and local organizations. Advocates say the overhaul will ultimately alienate, discourage, and hurt people seeking help.

Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws, which prohibit discrimination in public and private housing, is carried out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as state, local and nonprofit agencies that receive federal funding. Last year there were more than 34,000 fair housing complaints of all kinds, a record high for the third year in a row. But the enforcement power is rapidly being eroded and under increasing threat, according to fair housing federal employees. Cases dealing with alleged discrimination based on gender identity have stalled, with staffers afraid to keep working on them until they receive clear instructions on how to interpret terms such as “gender ideology,” referenced in an early executive order from the President.

People often call HUD hotlines to ask about their rights, register a complaint or get help in a crisis. But now they can only do so through an online form, with few exceptions for those with disabilities or who have tech or language barriers. Regional phone lines shut down in March, according to a HUD memo to fair housing staff. The changes were meant to “maximize efficiency and maintain responsiveness through staffing reductions,” the March 10th notice said. But staff members raised concerns that the moves make it harder for people to get help when they need it, including people facing eviction or families without a place to sleep.

More destructive changes are coming. The HUD office that enforces the 1968 Fair Housing Act is expected to be cut by more than 75%. Employees say that will further strain an understaffed office with a hefty case backlog. One employee said that while the Fair Housing Act requires investigations to be completed in 100 days, “we’re lucky if we can meet that goal for 30% of cases.”

“The level of cuts we’ve heard are on the table would effectively end enforcement of the Fair Housing Act in any meaningful sense,” said another HUD fair housing staffer. “The fear within the agency is that the administration’s goal is to gut some of the crowning achievements of the civil rights movement by simply ignoring the laws and refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated to enforce them.”

In late February, HUD and the U.S. DOGE Service abruptly canceled 78 fair housing grants to nonprofits, jeopardizing $30 million in congressionally authorized funds. Four organizations later filed a class-action lawsuit against HUD and DOGE, and in late March, a judge reinstated the funds with a temporary injunction. The Government Accountability Office - an independent watchdog based in the legislative branch - is also investigating the cuts to congressionally earmarked funds. Relief came only after the groups - many of which have small offices and depend on federal grants -faced the prospect of laying people off or closing. Private nonprofits processed 75% of complaints in 2024, and they say that being in communities makes their work to fight discrimination more effective. 

“This is evisceration,” said Gail Williams, executive director of Metro Fair Housing Services in Atlanta. “That’s exactly what it is. It’s pretty plain. There’s no cover to it.” When Williams got an email on Feb. 27 saying her organization’s $425,000 enforcement grant was canceled, she knew that would leave 34 pending investigations in limbo. The grant represents 53 percent of the organization’s annual budget. Without it, she could keep the 51-year-old organization open for only three more months. “Most fair housing centers right now are uncertain as to how we will continue,” she said.

Staffers working on fair lending, consumer protection, and other public interest issues at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) were also put on administrative leave in March. Agency director Bill Pulte rolled out a string of new directives in recent days, including those paring tenant protections and ending programs that help borrowers lacking the traditional 20% cash down payment required to buy a new home.

In the backdrop, a national housing crisis has made it more difficult for people to find affordable places to live. "Record high housing costs are putting the squeeze on families in every part of this country," said former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, who heads Enterprise Community Partners. He said arbitrary cuts to staff and funding "will only serve to destabilize our housing system and drive up costs for both renters and owners." Many staffers and housing experts say the cuts will indeed make it more difficult for the agencies to carry out basic duties and that it will keep local groups from on-the-ground work. "The shelters are overwhelmed. There's not enough affordable housing," Zoe Ann Olson of the  Intermountain Fair Housing Council in Boise, Idaho, said. "We're just seeing an extraordinary amount of evictions, like so many that we're getting on a daily basis. It's so disheartening to lose this money."

There are also fears that the lack of guardrails brings broader economic risk. Fair lending experts noted that many of the mortgages that defaulted during the 2008 housing crisis were predatory and disproportionately affected people of color - risks that can be reduced with proper oversight. Minority borrowers are also more likely to be denied home loans and to pay higher interest rates.

Read the April 6, 2024 Washington Post article.

Read the February 14, 2025 NPR article on HUD cuts.

Baltimore Fair Housing Month Resource Fair 2025 is April 26th!

 

April is recognized as Fair Housing Month in the United States to commemorate the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. This landmark law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin. This month serves as a crucial reminder of the ongoing struggle for equal access to housing and the need to address systemic barriers that perpetuate segregation and inequality. It is a time to reflect on the progress made, educate communities about their rights, and reaffirm commitments to fostering inclusive, diverse neighborhoods where everyone has the opportunity to live free from discrimination. Join the Office of Equity and Civil Rights and the Community Relations Commission for our upcoming Baltimore City Fair Housing Month Resource Fair! Learn more about your rights as a renter/homeowner in Baltimore City and be connected with resources to help you thrive in your communities. Lunch will be served, and activities are available for folks to bring their kids!  Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025  Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM  Location: Baltimore Unity Hall  Address: 1505 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, Maryland 21217, United States Register Here!

7 E. Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21202 Phone # 410-396-3141 Manage Preferences  |  Unsubscribe  |  Help

Free Baltimore Workshop On Access and Functional Needs (AFN) in Emergency Preparedness is May 1st

Invitation: Access & Functional Needs Emergency Preparedness Workshop The Office of Equity and Civil Rights and the Mayor's Commission on Disabilities, in partnership with the Office of Emergency Management, is pleased to invite you to an upcoming workshop focused on Access and Functional Needs (AFN) in Emergency Preparedness. This workshop will bring together community leaders, emergency planners, disability advocates, mental health professionals, and service providers working with the AFN community. We will discuss strategies for effectively including individuals with access and functional needs in emergency preparedness planning. Workshop Details: 📅 Date:          Thursday, May 1, 2025 ⏰ Time:         4:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Doors open at 3:30 PM)  📍 Location:   The Arc Baltimore: Seton Day Employment Services, 6151 Metro Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21215 🔗 Register here: Access & Functional Needs Emergency Preparedness Workshop – Eventbrite Workshop Objectives: Explore the four key methods of emergency preparedness: getting informed, building a kit, making a plan, and practicing your plan. Learn how to deliver emergency preparedness principles tailored to individuals with access and functional needs. Understand the various types of access and functional needs and disabilities, and how they compare to the six federally defined disability categories under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Identify common accessibility barriers individuals with disabilities face and discuss solutions to improve emergency preparedness and response plans. Accessibility & Accommodations: We are committed to hosting an inclusive and accessible event where all individuals can fully participate. ASL interpreters will be available. If you require accommodations or assistance with registration, please contact Michelle "Shelly" Smith at: 📧 Michelle.Smith@baltimorecity.gov 📞 410-396-6188. We encourage you to share this invitation with other relevant partners in your network. We look forward to your participation! Register Here!   7 E. Redwood Street Baltimore, MD 21202 Phone # 410-396-3141 Manage Preferences  |  Unsubscribe  |  Help

Maryland Fair Housing Month Free Activities & Trainings

 

Monday, April 7, 2025 FAIR HOUSING MONTH 2025 Webinar Series & Forum Wednesday, April 2 12:00pm to 1:30pm "Redlining in Real Estate"​ Webinar Complete!​ This event will address the unique challenges that persist due to the lasting effects of redlining practices on historically marginalized communities. Wednesday, April 9 12:00pm to 1:30pm "Addressing Appraisal Bias, The Roles of Law Makers, Industry and Homeowners" Register Online This event will address the unique challenges faced by marginalized communities in the appraisal process. Wednesday, April 16 12:00pm to 1:30pm "Enforcement" Register Online This event will address the unique challenges faced when individuals experience housing discrimination. Wednesday, April 23 12:00pm to 1:30pm "Source of Income" Register Online This event will address the unique challenges faced by individuals and families whose income sources are often overlooked or undervalued in housing and lending practices.   Monday, April 28 10:00am to 3:00pm Fair Housing Forum​​ Howard County Community College Smith Theater 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, Maryland 21044 Register Online Join us for an insightful and interactive forum focused on Maryland's Fair Housing Laws. This event offers a unique opportunity to discuss, share, and address key issues and solutions in our state Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships UPCOMING EVENTS Thursday, April 17 at 1pm Civil Rights Coalition of Maryland - Virtual Open House #2 Registration Required: https://bit.ly/3E2lDwy HOME      ABOUT MCCR      SERVICES      PUBLICATIONS      EVENTS      PRESS      CONTACT US

Marian Turski, Holocaust Survivor Who Warned Against Silence, 98

 

Marian Turski was a Polish Jew who survived Auschwitz and two death marches as a teenager and later became a resolute memory-keeper, civil rights advocate. and journalist, gathering testimony from other Holocaust survivors while warning younger generations against silence and indifference. For decades, Turski was among Poland’s most prominent living Holocaust survivors, recounting his story - and those of other Polish Jews he interviewed - while speaking out against hate and reminding the world of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. He battled against historical amnesia. 

Turski studied history at the University of Wroclaw and later traveled to the U.S. on a scholarship, joining the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists in Alabama for the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery.

Just before his death, he returned to Auschwitz to address world leaders and European royals and warned in his speech against “a huge rise in antisemitism.” He said he felt a duty to confront neo-Nazis, including some he said he encountered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in the 1960s, and to combat historical lies and revisionism, notably through an open letter he wrote to Mark Zuckerberg in 2020, urging the Facebook chief executive to ban Holocaust denial from his social media platform.

Turski and his parents were incarcerated in the Lodz Ghetto, an open-air prison and forced-labor site that eventually had 210,000 people, before being sent to the camps in 1944. Separated from his family, Turski was selected for forced labor at Auschwitz, the concentration and death camp complex in the south of German-occupied Poland. In January 1945, in what would be the waning months of the war in Europe, he and other prisoners were forcibly evacuated ahead of approaching Soviet forces, ordered on a death march toward the German interior.

Turski went on a second death march, this time to Theresienstadt, also known as Terezín, in German-occupied Czechoslovakia. When liberated by the Allies, he had contracted typhus and was near death, weighing 70 pounds. Unlike other survivors who immigrated to the U.S. or the British Mandate of Palestine, soon to become Israel, Turski stayed in Poland, where an estimated 90% of the country’s Jewish population had perished in the Holocaust. Among the dead were several dozen of his relatives, including his brother and father, who had both been killed in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. “I wanted to build a new society, to rebuild the country,” Turski recalled.

He became a member of the Polish Workers’ Party and served as an organizer, recruiting young people to the communist cause. While working as an editor at Polityka, a popular center-left newsmagazine, he grew disillusioned by the communist regime, accelerated when government officials waged an antisemitic campaign in 1968 and when Polish forces participated in a Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia later.

Turski published testimony from Holocaust survivors and worked with groups including the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland. To fill a “vacuum” of Jewish life in the country, he helped spearhead the creation of the POLIN Museum, showcasing 1,000 years of Jewish history in Poland. 

Into his 90s, Turski served as a member of the International Auschwitz Council, which advises the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, and as president of the International Auschwitz Committee, a survivor-led advocacy and education group that promotes awareness of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where 1.1 million people were murdered, including nearly 1 million Jews.

“Marian dedicated his life to ensuring that the world never forgets the horrors of the past,” Ronald Lauder, the cosmetics heir and president of the World Jewish Congress, said in a tribute. Turski, he added, “was a man who led by example, choosing good over evil, dialogue over conflict, and understanding over hostility.”

At a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation, he urged the gathered dignitaries to remember that “Auschwitz did not fall from the sky” but “began with small forms of persecution.” He went on to cite what he called “the 11th Commandment”: “Don’t be indifferent.” “Do not be indifferent when you hear lies, historical lies,” he said. “Do not be indifferent when you see the past is stretched to fit the current political needs. Do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against.”

Read the February 20, 2025 Washington Post article.

(Photograph courtesy of the POLIN Museum.)

State Legislature Creates a Maryland Reparations Commission, One of Few States with a Statewide Panel

 

The House of Delegates has given final approval on April 2nd to a bill that would create a Maryland Reparations Commission, sending the measure to the governor for his signature. The 101-36 party-line vote would make Maryland one of the few states in the nation with a statewide body to study the inequality endured by African descendants. California became the first state in 2020 to pass legislation; then Illinois in 2021 and New York in 2023. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges' Center for Health Justice (ACHJ), as of March 6, 2024, 22 localities (including Washington, D.C.) have approved a reparations commission or task force and 11 states have introduced legislation to create one.

If approved, the Maryland commission would assess specific federal, state and local policies from 1877 to 1965, the post-Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras. Those years “have led to economic disparities based on race, including housing segregation and discrimination, redlining, restrictive covenants, and tax policies,” according to the bill. The commission would also examine how public and private institutions may have benefited from those policies, and would recommend appropriate reparations, which could include statements of apology, monetary compensation, social service assistance, business incentives and child care costs. The all-volunteer commission would consist of 23 people, including two employees from the state’s four historically Black colleges and universities with expertise in the history of slavery; a representative from the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and the state archivist or a designee from that office.

A hearing on the Maryland Senate version was first held on February 27th and then approved by the full chamber on March 14th. The bill would go into effect July 1st and remain in effect until June 30, 2028.

You can view a discussion with Dr. Jamal Bryant and the Reverend Dr. Robert Turner, NAARC Commissioner and Pastor of Empowerment Temple, Baltimore, on the “Let’s Be Clear” Podcast. They explore reparations, the intersection of faith and justice, and the significance of the Tulsa race massacre centennial. Dr. Turner recounts his 1,169-mile advocacy journey and highlights the ongoing fight for equity and reparative justice. Source: The Jamal Bryant Podcast “Let’s Be Clear,” YouTube. It was made available by the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC).

Read the April 3, 2025 Maryland Matters article.

Read the April 2024 ACHJ article about reparations.

Preserve the Payday Lending Rule!

A Blog Post by the Consumer Federation of America

Barring a last-minute action by the CFPB or a court intervention, the payment provision in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Payday Lending Rule will go into effect on March 30th. The rule has received bipartisan support and will protect people from unfair practices. Borrowers will benefit from the rule’s prohibitions on an unfair debt collection method. Policymakers should not delay, weaken, or suspend the rule from going into effect. 

The Payday Lending Rule, proposed in 2016 and completed in October 2017, had two parts. Its “mandatory underwriting provision” (MUP) obligated lenders to document a borrower’s ability to repay the debt, required a 30-day cooling-off period after a borrower’s third consecutive loan, and called for a registry to track an individual’s usage of payday loans. It explicitly stated that lenders should consider a borrower’s expenses and not just their income when assessing an applicant’s creditworthiness.  

The second part – the payment provision – banned the practice of debiting a borrower’s account after more than two failed attempts, deeming this unfair and abusive. This provision addressed a widespread problem of payday lending: many payday lenders debit an account repeatedly, knowing that customers would incur overdraft fees, as a means to coerce repayment. Some payday lenders used the threat of overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees as an intimidation tactic to collect outstanding loan balances. In some cases, they even attempted to debit accounts that had been closed.  Pew research revealed that more than one in four payday loan customers experienced an overdraft fee due to a lender’s attempt to collect a payment from their bank account. The CFPB identified one lender that debited a borrower’s account 11 times in a single day.

As expected, the high-cost loan industry fought against the rule when it was proposed. Their attacks have never ceased, beginning with a 2018 lawsuit and lasting to this moment. While the rule was not challenged with the Congressional Review Act (CRA), the industry kept up the pressure. When the CPFB’s leadership changed with the transition to the first Trump Administration, payday lenders found a more friendly ear for their concerns. In 2018, Acting Director Mick Mulvaney asked for a delay in the rule’s implementation pending the lawsuit’s outcome. On February 6th, 2019, the CFPB announced it would propose a new rule to rescind the MUPs and, in the interim, would delay their implementation for one year, until November 2020. 

In July 2020, the CFPB issued a new final rule revoking the MUPs but left the payment provision intact. The payment provision’s rules apply to lenders that offer short-term loans, loans with balloon payments, and any loan with an interest rate greater than 36 percent and give the lender account access. 

In recent weeks, as the compliance date has approached, actions have surfaced that suggest the payment provision will be challenged. The Community Financial Services Association – the trade group that filed the initial lawsuit against the rule – filed a new request to the Supreme Court to drop the payments provision. Separately, a letter from the American Fintech Council asked the new Acting Director to clarify that the payment provisions would not apply to Buy Now Pay Later lenders. 

The high-cost non-bank lending sector has changed in the last few years. Today, a much higher share of these loans originate from installment lenders. Although they are not traditional payday loans, their structures mirror some of the most abusive components of payday loans. Many make loans at rates far in excess of high-cost subprime credit cards, for example, and some of the larger companies in the space make loans with rates above 100 percent. Some non-bank installment lenders pack loans with add-on fees, use unusual accounting techniques to delay the crediting of principal repayments, and have high rates of loan renewals. 

In recent weeks, Congress has taken up legislation to reverse some of the consumer-friendly junk fee rules to rein in junk fees that were finalized by the Biden Administration CFPB. Medical debt on credit reports, overdraft lending by very large financial institutions, and the payment app larger participant rules have all been subject to CRA resolutions. While none have been finalized, the threats are serious.

Suspending the payment provisions is different, as it was preserved under the leadership of a Director appointed by President Donald Trump. The rule has bipartisan support. Changing the rule now would be disruptive. The industry has had years to prepare. Canceling the rule will help no one except the share of installment lenders who want to use the threat of overdraft fees as a coercive scare tactic and would expose millions of struggling households to more expensive and wealth-draining overdraft and non-sufficient funds penalty fees. 

Source: https://consumerfed.org/preserve-the-payday-lending-rule/