WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) issued two notices announcing the withdrawal of proposed information collection within two areas that directly impact the LGBTQ community.
Published today in the Federal Register the first withdrawal is the Implementation Phase Review of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Youth Homelessness Prevention Initiative. The second is the withdrawal of a proposal to ensure that all HUD housing programs be open to people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.
According to the posts, these information collections are being withdrawn immediately while HUD further considers the need for the information collection. HUD will provide for public comment, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 should HUD decides to seek approval from the Office of Management and Budget for this information collection.
These actions come as no surprise as HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s anti-LGBTQ views are well documented. Carson opposes same-sex marriage, once comparing same-sex couples to child molesters and people who practice bestiality.
Carson also described as a “failed socialist experiment” a HUD rule that required cities receiving federal funds to analyze housing patterns and seek remedies to segregation, reported ThinkProgress. Research shows that this approach would benefit low-income families, however. Carson doesn’t have any expertise in the area of housing policy.
