A recent op-ed by Cato Institute policy analyst Diego Zuluaga suggested that lawmakers should eliminate the Community Reinvestment Act, claiming this law is inefficient and other safeguards are already in place to push back against discriminatory lending. The belief that the CRA should be scrapped is misguided and tone-deaf — unlawful discrimination in mortgage lending remains a real challenge for far too many Americans, as this year’s Center for Investigative Reporting documented in a groundbreaking yearlong study. Further, the homeownership rate for blacks is at a 50-year historic low.
