The AFFH rule was added to the decades-old Fair Housing Act by the Obama administration in an effort to hold local HUD grantees accountable to the idea of furthering affordable housing by producing and maintaining assessments of fair housing practices. Those assessments saddled HUD’s payroll with an estimated 64 additional employees, whose salaries cost American taxpayers up to $15 million a year.
Furthermore, the Trump administration argues the rule hurt low income Americans by forcing federal funds into wealthy areas, as numerous local jurisdictions opted out of the program due to the cost of producing reports, delivering them to HUD, and in many cases, forcing through zoning changes to maintain compliance.
Carson and senior HUD officials stated that the decision to roll back AFFH dated back to President Donald Trump’s first days in office. Carson originally suspended AFFH tools in 2018, and Trump further instructed Carson in January of 2020 to go as far as the law allows to terminate and replace the rule, without requiring Congressional action, senior HUD officials said. The president has recently voiced his opinion on the subject, tweeting he was considering ending the rule in June.
At the request of many great Americans who live in the Suburbs, and others, I am studying the AFFH housing regulation that is having a devastating impact on these once thriving Suburban areas. Corrupt Joe Biden wants to make them MUCH WORSE. Not fair to homeowners, I may END!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
https://dailycaller.com/2020/07/22/exclusive-hud-terminate-obama-era-housing-rule/