Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, June 25, 2015 - Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of the controversial “disparate impact” legal theory, saying those who file housing discrimination lawsuits don’t have to show they were victims of intentional discrimination:

“America is based on equal opportunity, not equal results. The dubious legal theory of disparate impact and the Supreme Court’s ruling pervert this founding principle.

“Discrimination in housing and lending on the basis of race, sex or other prohibited factors is morally repugnant and against the law. Our government must continue to combat discrimination in housing and lending and punish those responsible.

“Inventing discrimination through a disparate impact theory, however, is not a helpful tool in fighting actual discrimination.

“The Supreme Court’s extension of disparate impact theory to the Fair Housing Act will hurt precisely those minority groups that our federal civil rights statutes set out to protect. In fact, disparate impact will have predictable, negative consequences for all Americans who will experience a less competitive and more expensive market for housing and credit—all without providing any meaningful support for the fight against actual discrimination.”