FAIR HOUSING MOU SIGNING CEREMONY     
                                            Release No. 0228.97
                                                               
Remarks
                               OF
                     SECRETARY DAN GLICKMAN
               FAIR HOUSING MOU SIGNING CEREMONY 
               WASHINGTON, D.C. -- JULY 11, 1997

     Thank you, it's good to be here this morning. Many of you who know me
know that civil rights is very important to me. I know it's important to our
very able Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Andrew Cuomo, who's
here today. Thank you for joining us. 

     I'd also like to thank Moises  Loza, the Executive Director of the
Housing Assistance Council for being here, and for being such a strong
advocate for safe, affordable and available rural housing. Thank you.

     I'd also like to give a very special thanks to the folks at USDA's
Rural Housing Service, in our civil rights division and at HUD's Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity Office. They've worked so hard on this effort. 

     In particular, I'd like to thank Jan Shadburn, Eileen Fitzgerald and
Ben Dixon here at USDA. This has been a 2 1/2-year marathon for them. I hope
it feels good to cross at least one finish line.

     I was in Congress fighting these battles back in 1987-88 when we first
took the Fair Housing Act to the dentist's chair and gave it some teeth. I
was proud to be a part of that effort. 

     But here at USDA, it's been quite apparent that the full protections
of our fair housing laws have not been readily accessible to rural
Americans. 

     With this agreement, we're erasing that barrier and ensuring that the
full force of the federal government is behind all Americans who are
discriminated against whether they're trying to rent an apartment or achieve
the dream of home ownership.

     Housing discrimination is something that could strike any one of us --
you can't get an apartment or into your own home because of the color of
your skin, your age, your gender, your religion, your disability, your
marital status, or even the fact that you have children. 

     It's wrong. It's against the law. It's against everything this country
stands for. Yet it happens all the time.

     We had one case involving a disabled woman who asked permission to
install plexiglass shields -- at her own expense -- along the walls of her
apartment, so they wouldn't be damaged by her wheelchair. The landlord said
 no,' evicted her and then seized her security deposit as compensation for
the damage he -- in effect -- caused.

     Another landlord stuck persons with disabilities in apartments that
were prone to flooding, then refused to help them when the flooding
occurred. This person also regularly refused to refurbish apartments rented 
to minorities. There was a separate and unequal late payment policy, too.
We've had single moms turned away because of policies that read -- and I
quote --  a child cannot share a room with an adult.'

     All of these are clear cases of housing discrimination. USDA got the
security deposit back for the woman with a wheelchair. We could dismiss the
management company that was discriminating against tenants. We could make
the landlord take another look at that single mom's application, 
reminding him what the law says.

     What could HUD do? Let me tell you, a whole lot more. Secretary Cuomo
will go over that in detail.

     The historic problem has been that even though USDA runs all the
housing programs out in the countryside, we weren't given the same
enforcement tools as HUD under the 1988 fair housing revisions. For too long
that meant bureaucratic turf battles got in the way of enforcing fair
housing. We're kicking all that aside today. 

     This agreement recognizes the fundamental principle of good government
and good business: Our customers always come first. We're just plain doing
what's right.

     Under the new system, fair housing complaints will still come in
through USDA. Folks should still go to their local rural development office
to file a complaint. From there, the cases will be automatically shipped
over to HUD. In fact, we're handing over 130 open cases today. HUD will
investigate, and if there's a case, represent the complainant. 

     Our departments will share information, so for instance if there's a
pattern with a particular landlord, USDA can take programmatic action. All
this avoids duplicating efforts, and beefs up our overall civil rights
enforcement. 

     This agreement is going to make life a lot more difficult for folks
who chose to do the wrong thing, and it's going to send a clear message to
rural housing providers: Fair housing is the law.

     This is a critical part of President Clinton's  One America'
Initiative. If we cannot live as one America, then we cannot build  one
America.' Today's actions are an important step in the right direction. 

     Now, I'd like to turn things over to Secretary Cuomo ...


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