WASHINGTON – In his March 11 remarks at the National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference, NHC President & CEO David Dworkin emphasized the importance of strengthening the effectiveness of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
“To understand why the Community Reinvestment Act remains so important, one need only looks at the numbers of minority homeownership in the 50 years since the passage of the Fair Housing Act,” says David M. Dworkin, NHC president & CEO. “Overall, minority homeownership has plummeted during the Great Recession, falling from 52 percent in 2004 to 46 percent in 2016. The homeownership rate for African-Americans is lower today than it was when the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968. That is a national tragedy.”
Prior to coming to NHC, Dworkin was a senior housing policy advisor at the Treasury Department and part of the team that worked on the CRA modernization initiative, still underway.
He called on those who care about CRA to closely examine the final CRA report and thoughtfully consider how the issues it raises impact our communities; advocate for or against changes in CRA with the independent regulators that will actually be called upon to draft and execute changes to the regulation; and raise awareness among elected officials and the general public about why CRA still matters.
“Most banks have long ago learned to appreciate the value of CRA; though they are often frustrated by how it is applied,” said Dworkin. “We want CRA compliance to be fair, timely and accurate, and so do they. I am optimistic that this process will result in a strengthening of the effectiveness of CRA through sensible improvements.”
View Dworkin’s full remarks online here.
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About NHC: Everyone in America should have equal opportunity to live in a quality, affordable home in a thriving community. The National Housing Conference educates decision makers and the public about housing policies and practices to move housing forward together. NHC convenes and collaborates with our diverse membership and the broader housing and community development sectors to advance our policy, research and communications initiatives to effect positive change at the federal, state and local levels. Founded in 1931, we are a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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