Speeches

Mr. President: In a piece of legislation of this size, there is always much to praise – and, unfortunately, even more to criticize. I rise today, specifically, to correct one major mistake in this bill. As currently written, it permits the Department of Housing and Urban Development to proceed in the implementation of its radical new regulation, the insultingly misnamed “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule,” or AFFH.

But ask anyone who has ever called, written, or emailed their member of Congress what happens next: blame is shifted; fingers are pointed; scapegoats of every variety imaginable are brought forth to defend those who are charged with making the laws from the consequences of their handiwork. This is the very definition of unaccountability, and it pervades the culture of Washington, D.C., because Congress has allowed it to infect our laws and our institutions.