Urge Your Senator to Co-Sponsor the Fair Future Act and End Housing Discrimination

One of the most critical challenges for formerly incarcerated individuals is finding affordable, stable housing. Yet, for nearly 40 years, an obscure federal policy has made this nearly impossible.

The 1988 Thurmond Amendment makes this even harder by allowing property owners to discriminate against applicants with drug convictions — regardless of how long ago the conviction occurred or whether the individual has already served their time.

This legalized discrimination must end. Luckily, the Fair Future Act is the solution and it's moving fast – with strong support on both sides of the aisle in the House. This is not business as usual. Typically, legislation moves extremely slow…unless they are popular. The fact that the bill has gotten bipartisan support in the house and so quickly, speaks to how obviously unjust the current situation is.

To get the Fair Future Act over the finish line once and for all, we need widespread, bipartisan support in both houses on Capitol Hill — the House and the Senate. We already have bi-partisan support and sponsorship in the House — Senator Cory Booker is championing the bill on the Democrat side in the Senate but we have yet to find a Republican Senator to sponsor the bill. Ask your Republican Senators to do more than just cast a vote when the time comes — ask them to stand up for second chances and actively co-sponsor this bill.

By co-sponsoring the Fair Future Act, our elected officials signal that they stand for data-driven safety, economic mobility, and a real, full life after reentry.

Don't let a decades-old policy keep millions of Americans on the streets. Sign your name and send a message to demand that your Senators co-sponsor the Fair Future Act today.

Support the Fair Future Act! End Housing Discrimination!

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Dear Senator,

As your constituent, I am writing to urgently request that you look past "business as usual" politics and actively co-sponsor the Fair Future Act to repeal the counterproductive 1988 Thurmond Amendment to the Fair Housing Act.

This critical, common-sense reform is moving fast with strong, bipartisan support in the House (H.R. 7765). Typically, federal legislation moves incredibly slow — unless it is highly popular and overwhelmingly backed by data. The Fair Future Act is both. I am asking you to show true leadership on Capitol Hill by adding your name as a Senate co-sponsor.

For nearly 40 years, the Thurmond Amendment has allowed property owners and automated screening algorithms to permanently discriminate against rental applicants with past drug convictions. This policy functions as a lifetime ban on housing, regardless of how minor the offense was, how long ago it occurred, or how successfully the individual has rehabilitated.

While federal law does not permanently lock out individuals with past violent offenses from fair housing protections, it locks out over 9 million Americans with past drug convictions. This standard defies logic, tears families apart, and actively forces rehabilitated individuals into housing instability or homelessness.

Stable housing is public safety. The data overwhelmingly proves that securing housing is the single most effective way to reduce recidivism and save taxpayer dollars:

A 40% Drop in Rearrests: The Returning Home Ohio Project found that formerly incarcerated individuals who received housing assistance were 40% less likely to be rearrested.

Breaking the Cycle: In housing program models like the one in Hayward, CA, participant recidivism plummeted to just 9.6%—shattering the traditional three-year national average of 68%.

When individuals have served their time and paid their debt to society, keeping them tethered to their past by denying them a place to live is un-American. The Fair Future Act does not force landlords to rent to anyone; it simply ensures that applicants are judged on their current credit, income, and rental history rather than being automatically disqualified by a decades-old mistake. This is why the bill has earned the endorsement of organizations across the political spectrum, from the ACLU to CPAC and Prison Fellowship.

We already have strong bipartisan sponsorship in the House, but we need Republicans in the Senate to step up. I urge you to do more than just cast a vote when the time comes. Please take a stand for data-driven safety, economic mobility, and real second chances by co-sponsoring the Fair Future Act today.

Thank you for your time, leadership, and consideration of this urgent matter. I look forward to seeing your name added to the bill.

Thank you.