March 18, 2025 − Philadelphia, PA − Senator Vincent Hughes, PA Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, gathered a group of federal and state lawmakers, housing advocates, and community members to call out Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its unconstitutional action to freeze over $30 million in funding that has been appropriated to Fair Housing Initiative Program grants.
“We’ve gathered this group of individuals here- leaders from the federal, state, and local level- to let the public know that protections against discrimination in housing are under attack,” said Senator Hughes. “Over 60 organizations just witnessed a decimation to their funding by DOGE. This means that in 2025, under this administration, the elimination of housing discrimination, which is the law of this country, is no longer in effect.”
On February 27th, over 60 fair housing groups across the country received a letter informing them that their fair housing funding had been terminated effective that same day. In total, 78 grants were terminated that were set to provide over $30 million for fair housing services.
3 Pennsylvania organizations have had their funding frozen, including the Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeast Pennsylvania. CEO Angela McIver joined the press conference to call out DOGE for trying to “delegitimize programs that promote fair housing” and affirmed that President Trump and Musk will not break “the fair housing spirit.”
A lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and DOGE on behalf of the organizations who have lost funding.
During the press conference, Senator Hughes also spoke about the history of redlining in Pennsylvania, “We have a history of holding folks accountable and stopping discrimination. We’ve fought and won to stop discriminatory redlining that was denying our Black residents mortgages at a much higher rate than white residents. We are ready to fight on this issue with the same determination.”
Press conference speakers and housing advocates shared the following statements to support the call on President Trump and Musk’s DOGE to unfreeze the funding and respond to the country’s need for fair and affordable housing:
Congresswoman Madeleine Dean: “This is not normal. We will not normalize the wrecking ball that is DOGE and this Administration. The last 55 days of this presidency has not been easy on any of us. But this group behind me is doing the right thing to call out the big injustices…Housing is a human right. It is a right of dignity.
Important things have come out of difficult times, and I say that purposefully to say that this is a very difficult time, and important things will come out of it. We must not lie down, we must not despair. We must continue to fight.”
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon: “What the Trump Administration is trying to do is unconstitutional, unresponsive to the housing crisis, and unsurprising. As Senator Hughes said, fair housing is the law. It is unconstitutional for any president to pick and choose what laws they like…This Administration is moving heaven and earth to fund tax cuts for billionaires and to pay for them by cuts to services for the rest of us…We need the public’s help to push back and say, there is no mandate to do this to our communities.”
Congressman Dwight Evans: “I want to thank Senator Hughes for his partnership on housing. It’s a priority for me as well, and I’m going to keep fighting for federal funding. That’s both for money already appropriated and for the future. If there are organizations like the Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern Pennsylvania that haven’t been able to access their funding, I want to hear about it. Some of these situations may have to go to the courts.
Last week, I voted against the six-month, so-called “continuing resolution. It included billions of dollars in cuts rather than being a simple extension of existing funding – and it did not include safeguards to make sure that funding for housing and other important services will actually be delivered by the Trump administration. I’m going to keep fighting and advocating in Washington for the people of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.”
Senator Nikil Saval: “The passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 was a watershed moment, but the power of this act is in its enforcement. The Trump administration’s withdrawal of crucial Fair Housing funding disrupts this crucial work, making it impossible for advocates to uphold Fair Housing as law. This will increase housing insecurity across the board, with the harms falling most heavily on Black and brown people, LGBTQ+ people, immigrant households, and families with children. What we see from this administration is a hostile takeover of our crucial resources through the denial of our rights and liberties, and we must counter it at every level of government.”
Senator Tim Kearney: “As lawyers, advocates, and lawmakers are actively working to address the issue and reverse housing discrimination, our federal government is chaotically dismantling HUD and cutting grants that fund fair housing work. We’re calling on the Trump Administration and DOGE to stop attacks on housing and instead take action to make housing more accessible and more affordable.”
Angela McIver, CEO of Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern Pennsylvania: “DOGE called our work waste, but we call it great. DOGE is trying to de-legitimize programs that promote social fairness in housing because of gross historical and current government issued sanctions against, Black, Brown, disabled, and LGBTQ persons. DOGE is trying to break the morale of the fair housing spirit, but we will not hear it.”
June Burris, client of Fair Housing Rights Center: “I’m cut from the cloth that you have to stand up for something…Anyone who is listening, please help or speak up. Speak up against this disgusting DOGE.”
Dina Schlossberg, Executive Director at Regional Housing Legal Services: “Housing affordability and housing opportunity today are at critical junctures. We need leaders at all levels of government to support housing opportunity, housing access and affordability for all members of our communities. We applaud Senator Hughes for his advocacy and leadership on housing affordability and opportunity. He has been a leader in fighting for funding for housing, especially as a leader in our state PHARE program, and in fighting for equal opportunity for housing for all.”
Ira Goldstein, Senior Advisor of Policy Solutions at the Reinvestment Fund: “I’d like to point out that things are better in 2023 than they were in prior years. The disparities are coming down, but now is not the time to stop the effort that keeps these patterns going in a more positive direction.”
Catherine Hicks, President of NAACP Philadelphia: “We will not go back. Housing discrimination is illegal. But the law has no validity if advocates don’t have the resources to enforce it. The Fair Housing Act, established in 1968, is essential in combatting systemic discrimination and ensuring that every American can access safe and affordable housing. The Philadelphia branch NAACP calls for renewed commitment and action to address these critical issues.
Abraham Pardo, Vice President of the Office of Housing and Diversion Services Urban League of Philadelphia: “These days, housing discrimination is subtle. Consumers are met with a smile and a handshake, but they are denied housing opportunities- landlords with no children policies, persons with disabilities refused reasonable accommodations, housing providers refusing to return calls of prospective renters who sound Black, refugees denied housing because of their nation of origin. Practices like steering, redlining, block busting, all pervade. It’s only because of the dedication of Pennsylvania organizations like the Fair Housing Rights Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Housing Equality Center, that the rights of our most vulnerable constituents are protected.”
Rachel Wentworth, Executive Director, Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania: “The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania (HECP), one of only two organizations in Southeastern Pennsylvania focused solely on advancing fair and equal access to housing opportunities, assists over 250 individuals and families each year who have experienced discrimination in housing. Over the past three decades, HECP has ended unlawful discriminatory practices at 53,872 units of housing in Greater Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley and has recovered $3,324,521 in monetary damages for those who have been injured by discrimination. Without the fair housing services funded through HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program, thousands of Southeastern Pennsylvania residents would lose access to vital options for support and redress when faced with housing discrimination.”
Phyllis Chamberlain, Executive Director, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania: “Ordinary Pennsylvanians of all political views benefit from fair housing and other critical housing assistance programs. These programs were determined by Congress to be a good investment allocated to our communities from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Freezing these funds creates chaos.”