U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement today on President-elect Trump’s nomination of Dr. Ben Carson to serve as the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“The next HUD Secretary will lead an organization with over 8,000 employees and a budget of $47 billion that is charged with addressing the housing needs faced by our most vulnerable populations and enforcing the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination. Families face the challenge of finding an affordable and decent place to live with access to good jobs and quality schools when rents are exploding and access to the mortgage market is limited. It’s critical that Congress act to address these problems and have a strong partner at HUD to achieve results. I am interested to learn Dr. Carson’s approach to these issues.”
Before serving in federal, state and local government, Kaine spent his legal career as a fair housing lawyer from 1984 to 2001. During that time, his cases were focused on implementing provisions of the Fair Housing Act throughout Virginia. As a Richmond lawyer, he represented Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. (HOME) in its historic suit against Nationwide Mutual Insurance for industry-wide redlining practices in the issuance of homeowners insurance.