Tag Archives: Housing

a series of houses

Letters to Congress: Letter Urging Congress to Provide Greater Assistance for Homeowners in COVID Relief Plan

AFR joined a letter urging Congress to expand assistance to homeowners in the upcoming COVID-19 relief package. The letter, which followed a previous letter to the Biden Administration urging for similar protections, requested that the upcoming COVID relief package include $25 billion for direct assistance to homeowners, with the bulk of the funds deployed through state housing finance agencies through the Homeowner Assistance Fund and including at least $100 million for housing counseling and $39.7 million for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

NEWS RELEASE: Advocates Applaud Senate Bill Fund to Help Millions of Families Keep Their Homes; Urge Inclusion in Covid Stimulus Bill

“Facing the most economic distress and illness, low-income families and communities of color are most at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure without relief. The Homeowner Assistance Fund is a necessary measure to stem the impending foreclosure crisis and prevent devastating losses for families and neighborhoods.”

the capitol building

Letters to Congress: Letter Supporting the Nomination of Rep. Marcia Fudge as the Next HUD Secretary

AFR joined a letter expressing strong support for the nomination of Rep. Marcia Fudge as the next Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The letter cited Rep. Fudge’s stand-out qualifications, her long track record of working across party lines and with a wide range of stakeholders, and her demonstrated lifelong commitment to advancing the civil rights of all people. It urged the Senate to support her prompt confirmation.

a series of houses

Joint Letter: Letter Urging the Biden Administration to Provide Greater Assistance for Homeowners in COVID Relief Plan

AFR joined a letter urging President-Elect Biden to expand assistance to homeowners in the upcoming COVID-19 relief package. The letter called on the Biden administration to support the establishment of a Housing Assistance Fund, provide funding for HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and legal assistance, and to support several legislative measures to prevent the coming tsunami of foreclosures that likely will be concentrated in low-income communities and communities of color.

a house behind bushes

Letters to Regulators: Housing Joint Letter Opposing the OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “Fair Access to Financial Services”

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund signed onto a housing letter opposing the OCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “Fair Access to Financial Services.” The letter urged the OCC to withdraw the proposed rulemaking in its entirety, on the basis that it is a perversion of long-held anti-discrimination principles. The letter stated that the OCC appropriated civil rights language to protect market activities, drafted vague and unintelligible standards, undermined the ability of financial institutions to consider important facets of reputational risk in making investment and underwriting determinations, and provided a negligently inadequate 45-day comment period in the midst of the COVID crisis.

lawyer signing a document Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

Letters to Regulators: Letter Urging HUD to Take Action to Protect Borrowers in Upcoming LIBOR Transition

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Center for Responsible Lending, National Consumer Law Center, National Fair Housing Alliance, and Student Borrower Protection Center sent a joint letter urging HUD to transition to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) and share its LIBOR transition plan as soon as possible. This transition plan should include providing direction to housing counselors about the process and a targeted outreach plan to provide borrowers and all stakeholders with timely, accurate information so that they know what to expect in the months to come. 

a series of houses

News Release: HUD Guts Critical Tool For Fighting Housing Discrimination

For over 45 years, the disparate impact doctrine has allowed people to chip away at policies that have a discriminatory effect even if there is no intent to discriminate. When the need to address systemic racism is so urgent, and the costs of failing to do so are so devastating, HUD has chosen to finalize a rule that effectively dismantles this essential tool for fighting injustice.