Ehrlich on Washington column, October 22, 1995

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, i — > lr.(J Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of October 22, 1 995 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. RACE-BASED HOUSING: BAD FOR AMERICA On October 13 HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros testified before the House Banking Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity on which I serve. His appearance came just hours after The Baltimore Sun published a story about a plan to require some public housing residents in Baltimore to relocate to “areas of low minority and poverty concentration.” Though the Secretary’s appearance was on an unrelated issue, I decided to make the most of a golden opportunity. I questioned Secretary Cisneros specifically about the plan, conveying to him my own strong objections as well as those raised by County Executive Ruppersberger and the Baltimore County Council. I received his personal assurance that no final decision will be reached until the plan’s opponents have had ample opportunity to convey their concerns to HUD officials. The plan in question is a proposed settlement to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the city and federal governments regarding public housing practices. According to the terms of the settlement, 1 ,342 poor families now living in Baltimore will receive federal housing certificates with which to rent private apartments and homes. However, it expressly forbids them from doing so in poor or minority neighborhoods. I oppose the Baltimore/ACLU plan for a variety of reasons. First, it is an unfortunate example of race-based, quota-driven, Section 8-style housing policy at its worst. Demonstrable