Reading Room Document
Authority of Department of Housing and Urban Development to Initiate Enforcement Actions Under the Fair Housing Act Against Other Executive Branch Agencies
Because substantial separation of powers concerns would be raised by construing the Fair Housing Act to authorize the Department of Housing and Urban Development to initiate enforcement proceedings against other executive branch agencies, the Act cannot be so construed unless it contains an express statement that Congress intended HUD to have such authority. Because the Act does not contain such an express statement, it does not grant HUD this authority. There is no basis for construing the Act so that the HUD investigative and administrative process under the Act may be deemed applicable, but the judicial enforcement procedures deemed inapplicable. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/20346/download.
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit