Tina Smith (D-MN)
Mapping Housing Discrimination Act
A Democratic bill with 1 Democratic cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Mapping Housing Discrimination Act sets up a grant program for higher education institutions to look into and map out past housing discrimination records dating back to 1850. Under this bill, the Department of Housing and Urban Development will hand out these competitive grants for projects lasting up to five years. The schools getting the money will work with local governments to digitize old property deeds and local laws that show evidence of housing discrimination. All of this collected information will be used to build a free, national, publicly available database on the housing agency's website. The bill also prioritizes minority-serving institutions for these grants and requires regular reports to be sent to Congress.
Yes· 3 of 10
- Scored +5
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The bill creates a free, national, publicly available database detailing historical patterns of housing discrimination.
- Scored +4
Would Black Americans be better off under this?
The bill's focus on documenting historical housing discrimination and prioritizing minority-serving institutions helps highlight past inequities affecting minority communities.
- Scored +4
Would Hispanic Americans be better off under this?
The bill's focus on documenting historical housing discrimination and prioritizing minority-serving institutions helps highlight past inequities affecting minority communities.
The opposite
- Scored -2
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?
The bill authorizes appropriations of millions of dollars in federal spending for grants and administrative costs.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Section 2 and Section 3(b)(7): The bill creates a national, publicly available database of local records regarding housing discrimination patterns since 1850 at no cost to the public. This is positive because it gives everyday people transparent, open access to historical records so they can see how housing discrimination has affected their communities.
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Section 3(b)(5) and Section 3(b)(8): Schools can use grant funds to help local jurisdictions digitize property deeds, and those local jurisdictions are required to make those digitized records publicly available at no cost. This is beneficial because it upgrades local government records for free, making it easier for citizens to look up property history without paying fees.
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Section 3(b)(3)(C): The bill allows the Secretary to give preference to minority-serving institutions when awarding these grants. This is a positive step to ensure that diverse educational institutions receive federal support to lead these historical mapping projects in their own backyard.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Section 3(d): The bill authorizes the appropriation of $5,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2027 through 2036 for grants, plus an additional $750,000 per year for administrative costs. This is a potential burden for taxpayers because it commits millions of federal dollars over a decade to fund document research and mapping projects.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would Black Americans be better off under this? — The bill's focus on documenting historical housing discrimination and prioritizing minority-serving institutions helps highlight past inequities affecting minority communities. Would Hispanic Americans be better off under this? — The bill's focus on documenting historical housing discrimination and prioritizing minority-serving institutions helps highlight past inequities affecting minority communities. Would Asian Americans be better off under this? — The bill documents historical housing discrimination across protected classes, benefiting minority communities through increased transparency. Would Native Americans be better off under this? — The bill documents historical housing discrimination across protected classes, benefiting minority communities through increased transparency. Would students be better off under this? — Higher education institutions and their students gain grant funding opportunities to participate in historical research and mapping projects. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — The bill provides open and free access to digitized property records and housing discrimination data for the public.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill creates a free, national, publicly available database detailing historical patterns of housing discrimination. Does this give the federal government more power? — The bill establishes a federal grant program and uniform data standards managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated? — The bill supports analyzing and mapping historic housing discrimination records to increase transparency around racial disparities.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into public schools? — The bill provides grant funding opportunities for institutions of higher education to conduct research and mapping projects.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this reduce what the federal government spends? — The bill authorizes appropriations of millions of dollars in federal spending for grants and administrative costs.
- 9/29/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
Amy KlobucharDemocrat · Minnesota