DOGE Cuts Will Hobble Defenses Against Housing Discrimination

Read the full article at sevendaysvt.com. Read an excerpt below.

The Trump administration's slash-and-burn campaign against "wokeness" and government spending is coming for the few services that work to curtail discrimination in Vermont's housing market.

Late last month, the first swing of the ax struck a grant that funds a program at the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, which supports renters, homebuyers and landlords on issues related to state and federal fair housing laws.

The program is the only one in Vermont dedicated to public education about civil rights in housing. It helps people who are barred from an apartment because they use a rental subsidy, are harassed by a landlord who uses racial epithets or are denied accommodations for their disability.

There are signs that further cuts may be coming. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is terminating the lease for its state field office in downtown Burlington, Seven Days confirmed, fueling speculation that the agency may shutter the office altogether. And the stated rationale behind the feds' decision to yank the CVOEO grant suggests that funds for housing discrimination enforcement in Vermont are also in jeopardy.

A federal retreat from fair housing support will put pressure on Vermont lawmakers and municipalities.

Housing services are by no means a particular peeve of President Donald Trump's administration, which is pursuing funding cuts and waging war on liberal conceptions of equality in every sector of the federal government. But cuts in this area will have an outsize effect in Vermont, where high housing costs, low supply and a soaring homelessness rate are hampering the economy and undermining the state's inclusive aspirations.

The result could be a housing landscape that is tilted even further against people on the margins and offers little practical recourse for people who face illegal discrimination. A federal retreat from fair housing infrastructure will put pressure on Vermont lawmakers and municipalities — who are also struggling with budget problems — to put local dollars toward resources that could buttress the state's own, more expansive fair housing protections