Committee to HUD: More Must be Done to Protect People with Disabilities’ Right to Fair Housing
Feature Story by Tanisha Jones - 7/11/2002
The message of the recent U.S. House of Representatives Housing and Community Opportunity subcommittee hearing on housing discrimination was explicit: current laws to protect the equal housing rights of people with disabilities are not being efficiently enforced.We are essentially being "stepped out of the market," stated Becca Vaughn of the Disabled Rights Action Coalition for Housing.
Many of the Representatives’ concerns focused on the fact that President Bush has only recently nominated an assistant secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and on the past mismanagement and the deterioration of the department.
Kenneth Markus, HUD’s acting assistant secretary, tried to alleviate the House committee’s concerns about the agency. He said that HUD is strongly committed to upholding the laws for equal opportunity housing and strengthening client services. He also stated that the President is committed to these issues and that his nomination of a permanent assistant secretary expresses such dedication.
Markus also stated that the backlog of complaints filed by people with physical disabilities has been reduced, and that a study is in the works to investigate how building contractors and architects can better serve people who are physically challenged.
When asked by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) how HUD will try to rid the housing market of inequities, Markus stated that HUD Sectary Mel Martinez is already a strong supporter of the Fair Housing Act and HUD will have to follow his lead. He went on to say that a study that will document the discrimination of people with disabilities in the housing system is underway, with the results to be released sometime next fiscal year. Chairwoman Sue Kelly (D-NY) insisted that the results should be released earlier.
The House subcommittee seemed to concur that HUD needs substantially increased funding to better protect people with disabilities’ housing rights and also thoroughly enforce laws such as the Fair Housing and Americans with Disabilities Acts.
The Housing Opportunity subcommittee hearing was dedicated to Justin Dart, the renowned activist for the physically disabled, who passed away June 22, 2002.
