Louis Stokes: “is the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis aware that members of the committee disagree on two assertions in the…”

“is the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis aware that members of the committee disagree on two assertions in the committee report? First, the Fair Housing Act makes no mention of discrimination in property insurance, and, second, neither the act nor its legislative history suggests that Congress intended it to apply to the provision of property insurance. The fact is that both Republican and Democratic administrations, beginning with a HUD general counsel opinion in 1978, have determined that the Fair Housing Act prohibits insurance redlining and discrimination in the terms, conditions, costs, or other aspects of coverage. Following enactments of the fair housing amendments of 1988, President Bush issued regulations in 1989 explicitly applying the Fair Housing Act to discrimination in insurance. Since then, two Federal courts of appeal have determined that the act's provisions defining discrimination apply to property insurance. In both situations, the Supreme Court has denied a petition to consider the matter, in one case as recently as this year.…”