March 10, 2021

Duckworth Votes to Confirm Marcia Fudge as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after voting to confirm Marcia Fudge as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Fudge was confirmed by a 66-34 vote to serve as HUD Secretary under President Biden.

“Marcia Fudge’s commitment to advocating for American families will be invaluable as she works to tackle an economic and housing crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that, as Secretary, she will prioritize access to affordable housing and investments in at-risk communities. I look forward to working closely with Secretary Fudge to address several housing challenges in our nation, including Veteran homelessness, housing discrimination and housing accessibility for Americans with disabilities while supporting HUD’s vital public housing programs.”

Last year, Duckworth joined Senate Democrats in unveiling new additions to the Economic Justice Act, including creating a homeowner down payment tax credit, to address systemic racism and help reverse decades of historic underinvestment in communities of color. In September 2020, the Government Accountability Office agreed to investigate the availability of affordable, accessible housing throughout the country, after Senator Duckworth, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) and former Congressman William Lacy Clay (D-MO-01) sent a letter to the GAO requesting a report. In December 2019, Duckworth, along with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced the Averting Crises in Housing Assistance (ACHA) Act to improve HUD’s public housing oversight and transparency and to prevent future housing crises like what happened in Cairo, Illinois, where decades of systemic housing neglect and racism ultimately led to many Black families being forced out of their communities, with many of them moving hundreds of miles away.

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