Vermont Human Rights Commission tells appropriators HUD cuts and policy changes threaten fair-housing enforcement

Vik Hartman, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, told the House Appropriations Committee on April 22 that recent federal staffing and policy changes have sharply increased demands on the Commission while putting anticipated federal reimbursements at risk.

Hartman said the commission now handles a caseload in which more than half of its complaints are fair-housing matters and that changes at federal civil‑rights agencies — including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Justice Office for Civil Rights, and the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights — have reduced enforcement capacity and public guidance. He said those federal shifts and lost grant funding have increased pressure on the commission’s small staff to provide intake, complaint drafting, investigation and litigation support.

The commission operates under a cooperating agreement with HUD through the Fair Housing…