Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Thursday dismissed concerns about the agency changing the its mission statement to remove sections about building “communities free of discrimination.”
In an email sent to staff, Carson said the department is still committed to fair and discrimination-free housing.
“The Department’s mission statement has changed from time to time to capture the dynamic nature of our work. It changed in 2003 and again in 2010. Now, in 2018, we are considering another change to our mission statement and are seeking comments and ideas from our senior staff,” Carson wrote in the email “But the notion that any new mission statement would reflect a lack of commitment to fair housing is nonsense.”
Carson said he agrees “with every word” of the current mission statement, but finds it a “bit wordy,” according to the Huffington Post.
The email comes after the Huffington Post reported that Amy Thompson, the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs, sent an email to political staff earlier this week notifying them that they were planning to alter the agency’s mission statement “in an effort to align HUD’s mission with the Secretary’s priorities and that of the Administration.”
The proposed 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.”
Thompson requested input from staffers on the proposed statement, which is not yet final.
The revised statement proposal it has come under fire as it leaves out certain anti-discrimination language from the current mission statement, which claims the agency’s mission is to “create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.” The current mission statement also includes a section about building “communities free from discrimination.”
HUD’s website has not been altered to include the proposed mission statement as of Thursday afternoon.
