LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION OF FAIR HOUSING IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS: AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in accordance with the Fair Housing Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) ("Act"), in order to affirmatively further fair housing in all Federal programs and activities relating to housing and urban development throughout the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Administration of Programs and Activities Relating to Housing and Urban Development. 1-101. Section 808(d) of the Act, as amended, provides that all executive departments and agencies shall administer their programs and activities relating to housing and urban development (including any Federal agency having regulatory or supervisory authority over financial institutions) in a manner affirmatively to further the purposes of the Act and shall cooperate with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to further such purposes. 1-102. As used in this order, the phrase "programs and activities" shall include programs and activities operated, administered, or undertaken by the Federal Government; grants; loans; contracts; insurance; guarantees; and Federal supervision or exercise of regulatory responsibility (including regulatory or supervisory authority over financial institutions).

Section 2. Responsibilities of Executive Agencies. 2-201. The primary authority and responsibility for administering the programs and activities relating to housing and urban development affirmatively to further fair housing is vested in the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 2-202. The head of each executive agency is responsible for ensuring that its programs and activities relating to housing and urban development are administered in a manner affirmatively to further the goal of fair housing as required by section 808 of the Act and for cooperating with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who shall be responsible for exercising leadership in furthering the purposes of the Act. 2-203. In carrying out the responsibilities in this order, the head of each executive agency shall take appropriate steps to require that all persons or other entities who are applicants for, or participants in,or who are supervised or regulated under, agency programs and activities relating to housing and urban development shall comply with this order. more (OVER) 2 2-204. Upon receipt of a complaint alleging facts that may constitute a violation of the Act or upon receipt of information from a consumer compliance examination or other information suggesting a violation of the Act, each executive agency shall forward such facts or information to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for processing under the Act. Where such facts or information indicate a possible pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of the Act, they also shall be forwarded to the Attorney General. The authority of the Federal depository institution regulatory agencies to take appropriate action under their statutory authority remains unaffected.

Section 3. President's Fair Housing Council. 3-301. There is hereby established an advisory council entitled the "President's Fair Housing Council" ("Council"). The Council shall be chaired by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and shall consist of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and such other officials of executive departments and agencies as the President may,from time to time, designate. 3-302. The President's Fair Housing Council shall review the design and delivery of Federal programs and activities to ensure that they support a coordinated strategy to affirmatively further fair housing. The Council shall propose revisions to existing programs or activities, develop pilot programs and activities, and propose new programs and activities to achieve its goals. 3-303. In support of cooperative efforts among all executive agencies, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall: (a) cooperate with, and render assistance to, the heads of all executive agencies in the formulation of policies and procedures to implement this order and to provide information and guidance on the affirmative administration of programs and activities relating to housing and urban development and the protection of the rights accorded by the Act; and (b) develop memoranda of understanding and any necessary implementing procedures among executive agencies designed to provide for consultation and the coordination of Federal efforts to further fair housing through the affirmative administration of programs and activities relating to housing and urban development, including coordination of the investigation of complaints or other information referred to the Secretary as required by section 2-204 of this order that would constitute a violation of the Act or, where relevant, other Federal laws. Existing memoranda of understanding shall remain in effect until superseded. 3-304. In connection with carrying out functions under this order, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is authorized to request from any executive agency such information and assistance as the Secretary deems necessary. Each agency shall furnish such information to the extent permitted by law and, to the extent practicable, provide assistance to the Secretary.