SE Kansas City News

(Washington, D.C.) – On June 6, during National Homeownership Month, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) applauded President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, and the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE Task Force) for their recently announced actions to address bias in home valuations. Using Rep. Cleaver’s Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act as a foundation for the initiative, the PAVE Task Force is the first-ever interagency effort to combat discrimination in the home appraisal process. Last week, the PAVE Task Force announced it was taking meaningful steps to deliver on the PAVE Action Plan, including preventing algorithmic bias in home valuation, empowering consumers to take action against appraisal bias, increasing transparency and leveraging federal data to inform policy, breaking down barriers to entry into the appraisal profession, and more.

“When we first began discussing an interagency task force on appraisals, not even I believed it would be as effective and impactful as it has already been in just two short years since its inception. But, thanks to the leadership of President Bidenand the members of the PAVE Taskforce, Americans are already seeing concrete, meaningful action to combat the deeply troublesome disparities in the home appraisal process—which will ensure that every American who buys a home has the same opportunity to build generational wealth through the American dream of homeownership,” said Congressman Cleaver. “This is a major victory for all Americans including those who have been historically harmed by racial bias in the appraisal process.”

President Biden announced the creation of the PAVE Task Force, the first-ever interagency effort to root out racial and ethnic bias in the home appraisal process, on the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre in 2021. Last year, the PAVE Task Force released the PAVE Action Plan, which was the most wide-ranging set of commitments ever announced to advance equity in the home appraisal process. Last week, the Biden Administration announced a set of critical actions they are taking to deliver on the PAVE Action Plan.

As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance, Rep. Cleaver introduced the Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act in April 2021, citing unacceptable disparities in America’s residential and commercial real estate appraisal industry. Since then, Cleaver has worked with the Administration to create the PAVE Task Force and implement the PAVE Action Plan. Cleaver plans to re-introduce an updated version of the Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in the coming weeks to codify the important work being done to address disparities in the home appraisal industry.

More details on the actions announced this week are available here. 

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.

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