Washington, DC – Today, the United States House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1095, a resolution introduced by Congressman Al Green (TX-09) recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the 20th anniversary of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. H. Res. 1095 was introduced on April 9, 2008 and passed by voice vote this afternoon with 51 bi-partisan co-sponsors.

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, color, national origin, and religion. The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 included protection on the basis of familial status and disability, created an important enforcement mechanism, and expanded the definition of “discriminatory housing practices” to include interference and intimidation.

“Forty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought to expose the horrors of housing discrimination. By recognizing the 40th Anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, we are recognizing the legacy of Dr. King’s efforts,” Green stated.

Congress passed the Fair Housing Act as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Act into law on April 11, 1968, just days after the assassination of Dr. King. This vital legislation is the broadest and among the least enforced of our nation’s civil rights laws. According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, although nearly 4 million people are discriminated against in housing transactions every year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued only 31 charges of discrimination in 2007 and the Department of Justice filed just 35 cases.

“In passing the Fair Housing Act, Congress intended to advance equal opportunity in housing for the benefit of all people in the United States,” Green stated. “Despite passage of the federal Fair Housing Act 40 years ago, nearly 4 million fair housing violations still occur each year against people of all protected classes, and testing of the enforcement of fair housing laws continues to uncover a high rate of discrimination in the rental, sales, mortgage lending, and insurance markets.”

“Forty years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, Dr. King’s dream of eradicating housing discrimination has yet to be fully realized. Forty years ago, Dr. King proclaimed ‘we shall overcome.’ Yet today:

· Approximately 4 million acts of fair housing discrimination occur each year

· Approximately 27,000 housing discrimination complaints are filed annually

· 13 fair housing groups have closed their doors within the last five years, due to a lack of funding

· 26 fair housing centers, or one quarter of all fair housing centers in the country, have closed or are at risk of closing due to lack of funding

· Approximately 87 percent of African Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans who meet with real estate agents experience racial steering

· African-Americans and Latinos experience a 20 percent denial rate

· Less than 1 percent of housing discrimination acts are reported

It is forty years later, and we still have not overcome housing discrimination. Forty years later, there is still great work to be done.”