The proposed statement chops the current 63-word mission on HUD’s website down to 23 words — and puts an emphasis on “self-sufficiency,” a mantra that HUD Secretary Ben Carson has been touting in public appearances. “Secretary Carson is sending a message to the country that he does not take discrimination in the housing market seriously. "Thankfully, the law trumps a mission statement, so those legal obligations remain.”Raffi Williams, an agency spokesman, characterized the proposed changes to HUD's mission statement as “modest” in an effort to articulate the agency’s work in a “clear and concise” way. “You can be sure of one thing—any mission statement for this Department will embody the principle of fairness as a central element of everything that we do,” Williams said in a statement. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which last month removed “nation of immigrants” from its mission statement.

Source: Washington Post March 07, 2018 19:48 UTC