The Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice must take a stronger leadership role in fair housing and fair lending enforcement by focusing its resources on fair housing cases, and challenging lending discrimination, steering and discriminatory exclusionary zoning practices by local and state governments. Special attention should also be given to addressing discriminatory practices by federally funded and tax credit properties and seeking new ways to combat the failure to promote residential segregation in these programs.

DOJ must work more closely with federal, state and local fair housing enforcers and private fair housing groups to develop systemic investigations and pattern and practice cases. To free up resources to increase systemic cases, it should increase the responsibility of U.S. Attorney offices to handle the "election" cases.

DOJ must better focus its testing program to address real estate sales, steering, exclusionary zoning and predatory lending practices based on race, national origin, and disability and increase the number of cases based on its testing program. DOJ must also reassert its leadership role in fair housing by increased participation as amicus curiae in private cases that involve important fair housing and fair lending issues.

DOJ must bring cases based on the disparate impact theory and involve itself in private litigation to defend against attacks on the disparate impact standard of proof in fair housing and fair lending cases.

DOJ, as well as all federal agencies with responsibility for addressing the increasing number of natural disasters in this country, must also increase its readiness and give much higher priority to investigating and prosecuting discriminatory practices that occur in the wake of catastrophic events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Next Section: The Need for a Strong Fair Housing Initiatives Program and a Coordinated Fair Housing Assistance Program