HUD finalizes local zoning usurpation, Senate action urged

July 8, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s finalization of the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule that empowers the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to condition eligibility for community development block grants on redrawing zoning maps to achieve racial and income integration by building high density, low-income housing in well-to-do neighborhoods:

“Once again, the Obama Administration thinks it knows best for local communities, and is attempting to usurp the most basic zoning authority in a misguided attempt to create equal outcomes rather than equal opportunities.  It is particularly stunning that Obama is continuing on this path of outcome based discrimination findings given the Supreme Court’s barely dry ruling that held that this disparate impact theory can only be applied if there are many other proof points that de facto discrimination exists.  Yet, Obama, through this HUD rule throws the Court’s finding under the bus by basing housing policy upon this very same legally discredited idea.

“Let me make this clear.  Local zoning decisions should be left to local government where the people most affected make the decisions, and not by some pointy headed bureaucrat looking at a census map from Washington, D.C.  Laws against racial discrimination in housing have been on the books for almost fifty years, and this latest Obama Administration housing rule is nothing more than a power grab where the federal government tells America that they know best where to put a high rise apartment complex in your community.  Representative Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) has already led the House to defund implementation of this rule, now it is up to the Senate to take action and then hold firm and insist that this blatant federal takeover of local zoning authority be stopped.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.

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