WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) to introduce U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge at her nomination hearing in front of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to serve as President Biden’s Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Brown, presumed incoming Chairman of the Committee, noted Fudge’s long record of fighting for housing issues important to Ohioans and said he looked forward to their continued work together to help renters and homeowners in the state.
“[Fudge] knows what it’s like to run a city, and understands all the challenges facing renters and homeowners. She also saw up close how lenders preyed on families, and the foreclosure crisis that followed. Ms. Fudge has dedicated her career to fighting for these families and the communities they live in, and I’m excited to work with her to continue that fight,” said Brown.
Brown applauded President Biden’s nomination of Fudge to serve as HUD Secretary in December and spoke with her later that month on a wide range of issues, ranging from addressing inequality, the racial homeownership gap, the need to invest in affordable and public housing, and addressing lead hazards that poison our kids.
Brown’s full introductory remarks as prepared for delivery can be found below:
I’m honored to introduce Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who has represented me and the 11th District of Ohio since 2009. She is a proud daughter of Ohio. She was born in Cleveland, grew up in Ohio, and graduated from the Ohio State University and Cleveland Marshall College of Law.
Congresswoman Fudge has a long and distinguished career in public service – in the Cleveland and Cuyahoga courts, in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, as Chief of Staff to the trailblazing Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and as a Mayor of Warrensville Heights.
In addition, to those roles she served as the national President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, incorporated, and was has been a leader in Congress, as a past Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. She championed civil rights, and worked to fight poverty and tackle the issues affecting working families who struggle to put food on the table.
She knows what it’s like to run a city, and all the challenges facing renters and homeowners. She also saw up close how lenders preyed on families, and the foreclosure crisis that followed. Everyone on this committee has heard me talk about my zip code, 44105, which had more foreclosures in the first half of 2007 than anywhere in the country.
In 2007, Congresswoman Fudge was serving as mayor less than 20 miles away, and today she represents that zip code in Congress. Those families are more than just a statistic to her – they’re her constituents – our constituents, they’re her neighbors, her friends.
She knows their stories, and she will lift up their voices, and the voices of families all over the country who want to be able to afford a home without crippling stress every single month, and to be able to build wealth through homeownership to pass on to their children and grandchildren.
Ms. Fudge has dedicated her career to fighting for these families and the communities they live in, and I’m excited to work with her to continue that fight.