Bill > SR126

Introduced Session

This Senate resolution recognizes the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia L. Fudge for leadership in ending bias in home valuation through the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) initiative. HUD, including the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), continues to focus on its longstanding commitment and central role in providing accessible, affordable, and equitable homeownership opportunities to Americans nationwide. Under the leadership of Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, HUD is committed to addressing critical housing supply and affordability challenges, while working to advance affordable homeownership opportunities that ultimately serve as a means to unlock generational wealth-building potential. A 2022 study conducted by the Brookings Institution concluded that homes in predominantly black neighborhoods are undervalued roughly 21 to 23 percent below what their valuations would be in non-black neighborhoods, accumulating an estimated total valuation loss of $162 billion for homeowners across 113 metro areas. In its effort to advance equity for people who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality, HUD expects all parties engaged in FHA's mortgage insurance programs to eliminate all considerations of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability from the appraisal process. Secretary Fudge credits the formation of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE), a unique agency, with being a significant and important initiative by HUD to identify discrimination and bring about systemic change in the appraisal of properties that will serve as security for FHA-insured mortgages. For black homeowners who may be looking to access their home equity and are looking for recourse to their home valuation, Secretary Fudge pointed to recent actions by regulatory and law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to identify and offer resources to those affected by discrimination bias. Further, HUD, through the FHA, created a process that people seeking FHA financing can use to request a review of their appraisal if they believe the results may have been skewed by racial bias to ensure that their appraisal is fair. The PAVE initiative presents opportunities to advance affordable and equitable homeownership opportunities to all Americans and Secretary Fudge should be commended for her dedication ending racial bias in home valuation.

Committee Categories

Troy Singleton (D)*,  Shirley Turner (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 06/26/2023)

Official Document