[lg policy] Ben Carson Removes Anti-Discrimination Language From HUD Mission Statement

Thu Mar 8 15:27:34 UTC 2018

 Ben Carson Removes Anti-Discrimination Language From HUD Mission Statement
It will no longer reference “inclusive” communities “free from
discrimination.”
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/amanda-terkel>
By Amanda Terkel <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/amanda-terkel>
X

WASHINGTON ― Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/ben-carson> is changing the mission
statement of his agency, removing promises of inclusive and
discrimination-free communities.

In a March 5 memo addressed to HUD political staff, Amy Thompson, the
department’s assistant secretary for public affairs, explained that the
statement is being updated “in an effort to align HUD’s mission with the
Secretary’s priorities and that of the Administration.”

The new mission statement reads:

HUD’s mission is to ensure Americans have access to fair, affordable
housing and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency, thereby
strengthening our communities and nation.

“An organization’s mission is never static,” Thompson wrote in the memo,
which was shared with HuffPost by a HUD employee. “A mission statement
describes an organization’s purpose, what it intends to do, and whom it
intends to serve. Most importantly, an organization’s activities must be
embodied in its mission.”

She said the mission statement had been developed with input from both
Carson and his deputy. It’s not clear whether the new language is final.
Thompson asked the political staff to send along any “comments or
suggestions.”

The Carson mission statement is quite different from the current one, which
is still up on HUD’s website <https://www.hud.gov/about/mission>. That one
promises “strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable
homes for all.” It also says these communities will be “free from
discrimination”:

HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and
quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing
market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for
quality affordable rental homes; utilize housing as a platform for
improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free
from discrimination, and transform the way HUD does business.

HUD spokesman Raffi Williams said officials were considering “modest
changes” to the mission statement, as has been done in previous
administrations, to “make it a more clear and concise expression of the
historic work this agency performs on behalf of the American people.”

“You can be sure of one thing — *any* mission statement for this Department
will embody the principle of fairness as a central element of everything
that we do. HUD has been, is now, and will always be committed to ensuring
inclusive housing, free from discrimination for all Americans,” Williams
added.

HUD is not the only federal agency changing its mission under President
Donald Trump. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director
recently informed employees that it was removing the phrase “America’s
promise as a nation of immigrants
<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/us/uscis-nation-of-immigrants.html>”
from its mission statement.

*Are you at a federal agency that is changing its mission statement as
well? Email us at scoops at huffpost.com <scoops at huffpost.com>. *

Under President Barack Obama, HUD made advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and queer rights a priority
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/obama-lgbt-congress-hud_n_2766940.html>.
Shaun
Donovan, who served as Obama’s first HUD secretary, was the first sitting
Cabinet official in history to publicly support marriage equality.

The agency worked to prohibit discrimination by HUD-funded housing
authorities, recognized state and local laws that are more LGBTQ-friendly
than federal ones and raised awareness of resources available to the LGBTQ
community.

Carson has a long history of making comments opposing equal rights
<http://www.washingtonblade.com/2017/01/12/carson-pledges-to-enforce-law-but-calls-lgbt-rights-as-extra-rights/>
for the LGBTQ community. New York Magazine recently reported that under
Carson, HUD has pulled projects meant to help the LGBTQ community
<http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/08/ben-carson-hud-secretary.html>,
which
included online training materials for homeless shelters to ensure equal
access for transgender people.

“Self-sufficiency” has been a major focus of Carson’s. Last year, he said
he didn’t want low-income Americans receiving federal assistance to feel
too “comfortable” in their housing because it might make them say, “I’ll
just stay here. They will take care of me
<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/us/politics/ben-carson-hud-poverty-plans.html>
.”

In December, he announced a new initiative that would put “EnVision Centers
<https://www.housingwire.com/articles/42034-hud-secretary-carson-launches-centers-to-drive-households-to-self-efficiency>”
near federal housing developments to help train people in character and
leadership, educational advancement, economic empowerment, and health and
wellness.

Carson recently came under scrutiny for the revelation that his office was
set to be redecorated with a $31,000 dining room set
<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/us/ben-carson-hud-furniture.html>. The
secretary has claimed he knew nothing about the order
<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/us/ben-carson-dining-table-hud.html>.

-- 
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

-------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20180308/9aff3ec8/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list