A new bill was proposed Wednesday by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House and Sen. Kamala Harris in the Senate to remove barriers for individuals with criminal records seeking federal housing assistance. The Fair Chance at Housing Act of 2019 would require an individualized review of an applicant’s criminal history by public housing agencies and owners of HUD-assisted housing and the opportunity for each tenant to provide mitigating evidence during the tenant screening process.

Currently, applicants for public housing or Section 8 vouchers may be rejected by housing authorities if drug-related or violent crimes appear in their record during a background check. Even after being approved, tenants can be evicted if they are convicted of any crime, no matter how minor.

“Many of our most vulnerable Americans live in public housing – seniors, children, persons with disabilities, and those living in poverty," Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said in a statement sent from Harris' office. "These folks live under the looming risk of eviction because of harsh and arbitrary policies that penalize a family because someone in a household has been accused of a minor crime."

The legislation would not only ban blanket "one-strike" policies that allow for eviction after a single incident of criminal activity, but it would replace it with a review system where tenants would be allowed an appeal, and it would also prohibit policies that evict entire family units when there's been an offense committed by someone in their household without their knowledge, according to CBS news. The Act would also provide an additional $10 million in bonus funding for homeless service providers in an attempt to help those returning from prison through the Continuum of Care program.

Both legislators cited the War on Drugs and other racially discriminatory policies within the criminal justice system as complexes that have kept Black individuals from utilizing public housing, a problem that the United States government has recognized since at least 2016, according to a HUD memo.

"Across the United States, African Americans and Hispanics are arrested, convicted and incarcerated at rates disproportionate to their share of the general population," the memo states. "Consequently, criminal records-based barriers to housing are likely to have a disproportionate impact on minority home seekers."

If the bill passes it could impact the 19 million Americans who have been convicted of a felony.

Fair-Chance-at-Housing-Act-of-2019

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week