Political Quotes

“I rise to speak on amendment No. 874, my amendment on housing discrimination. My understanding is, when we assemble for a series of votes at 2 o'clock, this vote will be voice voted, and I particularly appreciate the work of Senator Collins, the ranking minority member of the subcommittee, and chairwoman Patty Murray for her work and Senator Sanders for his support and cosponsorship. Housing discrimination, as we know, prevents hard-working families from buying homes in the neighborhood of their choosing. Housing discrimination not only violates Federal law, it is a barrier to economic mobility. It is a morally wrong practice with real-world implications. A study by the Miami Valley Fair Housing Coalition, located in Dayton, OH, found that foreclosed properties in predominately African- American neighborhoods in that city are kept in significantly worse condition than foreclosed properties in White neighborhoods. That is bad for local property values, and it is bad for local governments that rely on property tax revenues because we know what that does for home prices. That is why the Department of Housing and Urban Development instituted the Fair Housing Initiatives Program, so-called FHIP. FHIP invests in the private fair housing organizations that help enforce antidiscrimination laws. My amendment would put FHIP funding on equal footing with the House legislation, increasing it to near its fiscal year 2011 level--exactly what the House did.…”