HUD Releases Equity Action Plan
On his first day in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. That Executive Order directed the whole of the federal government to advance an ambitious equity and racial justice agenda. This week, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, along with Ambassador Susan Rice, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and other Cabinet Secretaries held a virtual convening on equity, as more than 90 federal agencies released their first-ever Equity Action Plans. HUD’s action plan seeks to specifically address:
- Procurement: HUD is focusing on widening the base of small businesses and small disadvantaged businesses it serves based on the socio-economic groups that appear under-represented in HUD’s procurements. Through the equity assessment process at HUD and other agencies, two sets of barriers to equitable outcomes in procurement have been identified: On the vendor side is difficulty navigating the complex process of the federal procurement system and identifying specific agency opportunities On the agency side is improving market research and forecasting to match needs with small business capabilities. In response, HUD will expand outreach efforts to connect with more small businesses and community partners underrepresented in the procurement space, help new businesses navigate the process, and expand the geographical diversity of HUD’s supplier base. HUD will also encourage its grantees to work with local small businesses by sharing effective models from programs as varied as Choice Neighborhoods and CDBG-Disaster Recovery and will work with the interagency community to identify supports needed to ensure the sustainability of businesses, provide appropriate resources as they transition from small to medium businesses, and track success.
- Fair Housing and Civil Rights Resources: The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is the Department’s office focused on advancing civil rights, receiving legal support from the Office of General Counsel fair housing and regional counsel. FHEO’s staffing and funding resources have either not kept pace or declined, creating barriers for HUD in resolving fair housing complaints in a timely manner for all parties involved. The staffing decrease has challenged HUD’s ability to keep pace with both the number of complaints filed by the public for violations of their rights and the completion of statutorily required fact-finding investigations. In response, the President’s FY2022 budget request invests in FHEO capacity, proposing a 16.7 percent increase for FHEO salaries and expenses to increase staff and keep pace with HUD’s obligations to process, investigate, and resolve fair housing complaints and other civil right matters and to improve capacity to pursue Secretary-initiated investigations and compliance reviews. FHEO has issued guidance and new rules to strengthen the prohibition against discrimination in housing.
- Homeownership: Homeownership opportunities influence where and how households live, which in turn affects access to community investments and amenities. Access to homeownership and the wealth opportunities it promises is not equitable, with Black, brown, Latino, LGBTQ+, and other underserved households facing significant barriers to realizing the benefits of homeownership. HUD stated it is working to eliminate the racial homeownership gap through a range of actions and within many different programs, along with partnerships with federal and non-federal organizations. A sufficient supply of affordable housing across a range of income levels and locations to meet consumers’ needs is a critical component to improving access to homeownership and HUD is working with federal partners to identify opportunities to support an increase in housing supply.
- Homelessness: HUD’s Point-in-Time count, which counts sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on one night every year, found 580,466 people were living in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, or in unsheltered locations on a given night in January 2020. The pandemic has likely increased housing instability and people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+-identified people continue to have longer periods of homelessness, longer times to be housed, and higher rates of returns to homelessness. HUD’s activities will continue to build on several years of work within the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs to support greater equity in the provision of homeless assistance.
These areas identified in HUD’s plan are intended to bring greater equity within these programs to underserved communities and opportunities for stakeholder engagement related to HUD’s Equity Action Plan will be forthcoming.
To view HUD’s Equity Action Plan, click here.
To view the White House virtual convening, click here.
HUD Announces Key Staff Appointments
This week, HUD announced new key staff appointments, including all ten Regional Administrators, and several new roles for key appointees.
To view the new staff appointments, click here.