Congressman Maxwell Frost & Senator Cory Booker Introduce the Fair Future Act to Support Successful Reentry by Ending Housing Exclusion for People With Prior Drug Convictions
Under Current Law, Americans Who Have Served Their Time and Paid Their Debt to Society for Certain Drug Convictions Are Being Denied Housing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) have introduced new legislation, the Fair Future Act, to repeal an amendment to the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 that has led to permanent denial of rental housing to people with prior drug convictions regardless of the severity of their offenses or the length of time that has passed since their conviction.
The current law has meant that the over 9 million people who have been previously convicted of drug offenses in the United States can be denied rental housing – yet there are no restrictions for people convicted of murder or other violent crimes, which creates a difficult patchwork of laws for property owners to navigate.
"People who have served their time, repaid their debt to society, and are looking to re-enter our communities cannot do so when the deck is stacked against them," said Congressman Maxwell Frost. "Housing is the foundation of a safe and secure life – yet outdated housing laws and conflicting state laws on marijuana mean that someone could go to jail, serve time, and be denied housing in one state, while someone carrying the same amount of marijuana in another state is abiding by the law. It's time we allow folks a fresh start and put an end to housing exclusion for folks who have paid for their crimes and are rebuilding their lives."
“No one should be permanently denied a place to live because of a prior drug conviction,” said Senator Booker. “Right now, housing laws have deniedpeople with prior drug convictions the ability to live in rental housing and in turn, denied them a fair chance at reentering society. The Fair Future Act will eliminate this discriminatory barrier to housing and help us put an end to our nation’s cycle of poverty and recidivism.” “No one should be permanently denied a place to live because of a prior drug conviction,” said Senator Booker. “Right now, housing laws have denied people with prior drug convictions the ability to live in rental housing and in turn, denied them a fair chance at reentering society. The Fair Future Act will eliminate this discriminatory barrier to housing and help us put an end to our nation’s cycle of poverty and recidivism.”
The Fair Future Act was inspired in part by the personal testimony of people impacted by this flawed policy, like Yusuf Dahl, a Milwaukee native who served a five-and-a-half-year sentence and went on to become an outstanding member of society, receiving an Ivy League education and leading a center for entrepreneurship, only to be denied housing while attempting to rent a home for him and his family in Pennsylvania.
"The Fair Future Act is a common-sense reform that ensures housing applicants are judged by their income, credit history, and rental record—not automatically denied by an algorithm based solely on a decades-old drug conviction," said Yusuf Dahl. "Given housing's crucial role in economic mobility and stability in today's competitive rental market, the Fair Future Act offers a necessary fix to a federal policy that unfairly punishes formerly incarcerated individuals who have already paid their debt to society. When people have turned their lives around, we shouldn't keep them tethered to their past by denying them one of the most fundamental rights: the right to live where they choose."
The Fair Future Act has also been endorsed by the National Housing Law Project.
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