Biden’s pick to lead HUD pledges to stem evictions, housing inequity
WASHINGTON — In a hearing that summoned memories of the 2008 financial crisis in the Midwest, Rep. Marcia Fudge told Senate lawmakers Thursday that, if confirmed as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she would take significantly stronger federal actions to stem the tide of evictions and make housing more affordable and accessible to people of color.
Ms. Fudge, D-Ohio — who joined Congress in 2008 after eight years as mayor of Warrensville Heights, a Cleveland suburb — said she would be committed to pulling the country from the brink of economic hardship, in part by pushing for more federal aid to struggling renters and homeowners.
Over the long run, she said the agency must improve the nation’s stock of affordable housing and meet President Joe Biden’s pledge to build 1.5 million new affordable housing units.
Mr. Biden signed an executive order Tuesday that directs HUD to examine the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard. The rule was initially enacted in 2013 under the administration of thenPresident Barack Obama that held lenders, landlords and housing providers liable for discrimination against protected classes even if it was not their intent to discriminate. Last year, the Trump administration imposed a new standard that required proof of intentional discrimination.
Ms. Fudge pledged to follow Mr. Biden’s directive to take steps to strengthen that rule once again.
“HUD — perhaps more than any other department — exists to serve the most vulnerable people in America,” she said in her opening remarks.
“That will require us to end discriminatory practices in the housing market,” Ms.
Fudge said, so that the door is open “for families, especially families of color who have been systematically kept out in the cold across generations, to buy homes and punch their ticket to the middle class.”
Ms. Fudge appeared virtually before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, along with Cecilia Rouse, Mr. Biden’s nominee to lead the Council of Economic Advisers.
During the Great Recession, Ms. Rouse served from 2009 to 2011 on the Council of Economic Advisers. She also served on the National Economic Council under President Bill Clinton.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, DOhio, who lives in Ms. Fudge’s district, recalled the wave of foreclosures in Northeast Ohio during the recession and how that shaped their shared views on predatory lending and fair housing laws.
Mr. Brown, the incoming chair of the committee, said both nominees, who are Black, would bring a fresh perspective to the country’s current economic crisis.
“Two Black women will take leading roles in our economic recovery,” Mr. Brown said. “I can think of no one better to lead us out of this pandemic and into the future than the two women
before us today.”
Ms. Fudge said she believed HUD should be doing more to expand the government’s inventory of affordable housing, in part by increasing housing vouchers, reducing rent and providing more assistance to developers of housing projects. She testified that, as mayor of Warrensville Heights, she widened the city’s tax base and expanded affordable housing opportunities.
“We cannot afford to allow people, in the midst of a pandemic, to be put in the streets,” Ms. Fudge said. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary action. And we are in extraordinary times.”
Republicans on the committee pressed Ms. Fudge to consider unintended costs of restoring Obama-era government rules on communities and landlords.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., the top Republican on the committee, questioned the return of the 2013 disparate impact rule and the need for sweeping new funding measures.
“My view is: If, after all this historic spending, there are people who have fallen through the cracks, people who have not gotten the assistance they need, then by all means, let’s have a conversation,” Mr. Toomey said. “But I think anything we do now should be narrowly targeted to the people who actually need the help.”
Mr. Toomey and other Republicans also criticized Ms. Fudge’s previous comments that disparaged their party.
Mr. Toomey pointed to Ms. Fudge’s comments that called Republicans who rushed through Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation a “disgrace to this nation” and, in separate remarks, that Republicans don’t care about people of color.
“Congresswomen, it’s one thing to have strongly held views and disagreement,” Mr. Toomey said. “But I’m troubled by this and several other statements because, in my mind, they raise questions about your willingness and ability to work with Republicans, if this is your opinion of Republicans.”
Ms. Fudge responded that “sometimes I am a little passionate about this. Is my tone pitch-perfect all the time? It is not.” She added: “I have always been able to work across the aisle.”
Ms. Fudge, if confirmed, would take the reins of the agency amid a housing crisis.
About 6.4 million Americans — including 152,000 Pennsylvanians — are likely to face eviction or foreclosure in the next two months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.
Nearly 3 million homeowners are currently in forbearance, and another 800,000 borrowers are delinquent, Ms. Fudge said.
In December, Congress provided $25 billion for a new rental assistance program to be administered by state or local agencies. Eligible renters would be able to receive assistance for rent, utility payments and other bills that have piled up since the start of the pandemic.