Biden HUD nominee Fudge explains 'equity' doesn't mean 'treating everyone the same'

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Biden HUD nominee Fudge explains ‘equity’ means not ‘treating everyone the same’

Senate Banking Committee holds confirmation hearing for Housing and Urban Development and Council of Economic Affairs nominees.

President Biden's Housing and Urban Development Secretary nominee Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, explained to the Senate Banking Committee Thursday that when it comes to housing, treating people the same based on race is not the preferred approach.

During Fudge's confirmation hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., noted that one of President Biden's goals is to achieve racial "equity," and even corrected himself in remarks when he started to say "equality" instead. Cotton asked what the difference is, and Fudge was happy to answer.

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"From my own perspective, the difference is that one just means that you treat everybody the same," Fudge said. "Sometimes the same is not equitable."

The congresswoman then tried to illustrate her point with two examples.

"You know if you say to me that I'm going to give you five dollars so you’re going to give my friend five dollars, my five dollars is not necessarily going to go as far because my friend already has a mother and father who is wealthy and they’re giving them," she said, before opting to switch to a different comparison.

"Let’s just do it this way," Fudge continued. "Homeownership, let's take it that way. They say let's make everything equal. But it's not equal because even though I may meet all of the qualifications to qualify for a loan, you know, I've got the right credit scores, et cetera, but I don't have down payment money because my parents can't afford to give me down payment money. There is no wealth coming to me."

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She went on to say that "most people ... that don't look like me have options that I do not have" and that "to say that you treat us all the same is not the same."

"Equity means making the playing field level," Fudge said. "Sometimes it's not level if you just say, ‘Let's just treat everybody the same.'"

After listening to this response, Cotton then questioned the underlying idea behind this.

"Just to be clear then, it sounds like racial equity means treating people differently based on their race, is that correct?" he asked.

Fudge then stated that race is not necessarily the only factor in racial equity, saying that economics, education, and "the history of discrimination" could all play into it.

"Not necessarily just race," she said.

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When asked if it would ever be appropriate for the government to treat people differently due to their race, Fudge said, "No."

The hearing took place two days after Biden signed an executive order aimed at having the secretary of housing and urban development remedy "our nation's and the federal government's history of discriminatory housing practices and policies."