Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Stacie Miller
202-662-8317
smiller@lawyerscommittee.org

June 12, 2008

Lawyers' Committee's Audrey Wiggins Cites Critical Housing Issues During Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
"Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act of 1968"

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Audrey Wiggins, director of Fair Housing and Environmental Justice with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee) addressed members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties during a hearing on the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) of 1968.  Highlighting the subprime mortgage crisis, unprecedented foreclosure rates and limited available affordable housing on the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, she stressed the critical need that housing choice be unfettered by discrimination.

Wiggins pointed out failures of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to enforce the FHA, obligating communities to act as principal prosecutors of the FHA.  “This has also resulted in DOJ’s de-emphasis, if not refusal, on bringing disparate-impact cases based on race, failures in the complaint process of HUD’s Office of Fair

Housing and Equal Opportunity and a cut in funding to private and local government fair housing agencies, which have burdened communities to act as principal enforcers of the Fair Housing Act,” said Wiggins.

“Although the law correctly empowers individuals to bring fair housing cases, the intent of the law does not require that individuals act alone.  Indeed, DOJ and HUD have unique authority and resources to enforce the Fair Housing Act, particularly in investigating and litigating systemic, pattern and practice, as well as disparate impact cases. It is imperative that DOJ and HUD, in fulfilling their obligations under the FHA, apply their resources to challenge the systemic, widespread practices that contribute to housing discrimination, she iterated throughout her testimony.

The Lawyers’ Committee, and its sister organizations in the fair housing community, now bridge the gap left by these government agencies. The docket of the Lawyers’ Committee’s Fair Housing project reflects the type of impact litigation that DOJ should join in continuing to champion. In closing remarks Wiggins said, “I am sure that each witness you hear from today will tell you that they believe housing choice free from discrimination is fundamental to equal opportunity and a fairsociety. I am sure we would all tell you that whether you are Asian American in Gulfport, Mississippi, African American in Detroit, Michigan, Hispanic in Gary, Indiana or any other person of color, no one should deny you a housing unit because of your race. Then why are housing advocates and the government agencies empowered to enforce the FHA at odds? … If we all agree that race should not be a barrier to fair housing, then DOJ and HUD should be a partner with the fair housing community, not an adversary.”

To read Wiggins’ written testimony, visit www.lawyerscommittee.org.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice under law, particularly in the areas of housing, community development, employment, voting, education and environmental justice.  For more information about the LCCRUL, visit www.lawyerscommittee.org.

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