Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have filed a bill that would repeal a decades-old federal statute that’s led to the denial of housing for millions of people with prior drug convictions.
Reps. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) filed the legislation—titled the “Fair Future Act”—last week. An earlier version was introduced with a Senate companion last session, but it did not advance to enactment.
The measure would strike a section of the 1988 Fair Housing Amendments Act that the lawmakers say has prevented more than nine million people from accessing rental housing no matter how serious the offense was or how long it’s been since they’ve been convicted.
“Because drug laws vary widely from state to state, this policy can produce dramatically different outcomes for Americans living just miles apart,” a press release from Frost’s office says. “In one state, a person may serve jail time for marijuana possession and then face permanent exclusion from federal Fair Housing protections. Across the state line, however, the same conduct may be entirely legal.”
Frost said that “housing is a fundamental human right and the foundation for a stable and dignified life.”
“People who have served their time and repaid their debt to
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