Kansas City Council introduced a ban on source of income discrimination last month, which would prevent landlords to refuse to rent to tenants solely because they use Section 8 vouchers.
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge said that measure is a step in the right direction towards improving the city's affordable housing stock.
Fudge joined Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver in Kansas City over the weekend to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. She said that the restrictions would be a major positive change to address income and racial discrimination, in addition to a shortage of affordable housing.
"We need every single person in every single community to be part of the solution," Fudge said. "And the only way we can do that is to make sure that we can broaden the base of people who are renting to our voucher holders."
The Kansas City Council is set to vote on its source of income discrimination ban next week.
- Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, Missouri's 5th U.S. House district
- Marcia Fudge, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
