; Whereas private, nonprofit, fair housing centers funded by Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) are the frontline in the effort to resolve housing discrimination and train local housing providers on how to comply with the Fair Housing Act; Whereas in 2016 approximately 28,181 housing discrimination complaints were filed, of which 19,740 complaints or approximately 70 percent, were filed with local private, nonprofit, fair housing centers; Whereas the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) funds fair housing grants annually on a non-competitive basis to State and local fair housing enforcement agencies which are used for complaint processing, administrative costs, special enforcement efforts, training and other projects designed to enhance the agency’s administration and enforcement of its fair housing law; Whereas while our Nation has made great strides in eliminating housing discrimination, families with children, women, people with disabilities, people of color, and religious minorities still face unnecessary barriers to housing; Whereas fair housing education and enforcement play a pivotal role in increasing housing choice and minority homeownership and combating predatory lending; and Whereas the Fair Housing Act is an essential component of our Nation’s civil rights legislation: Now, therefore, be it