WASHINGTON A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report requested by Senators Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Ranking member of the Senate Banking and Housing Committee, and Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, found that the process by which the federal agency responsible for receiving, investigating and resolving complaints of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act is inadequate.The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against minorities, persons with handicaps, and other protected groups in the sale and rental of housing.The ability of people who feel that they have been discriminated against to have their complaints effectively addressed is critical, said Sarbanes. Unfortunately, GAO found that people who make complaints to the proper agencies around the country, are put into a system of unnecessary delays, incomplete intake and investigations and lack of oversight. The system of investigating and enforcing our fair housing laws must be more thorough as well as more consistent so that those who face discrimination can feel assured that their complaints will be satisfactorily resolved. I look forward to working with my colleagues and HUD to strengthen the enforcement of our fair housing laws.Reed stated, This report provides a disturbing insight into what individuals must go through to resolve discrimination complaints. The enforcement of fair housing laws are a crucial part of HUDs mission and must be carried out efficiently and effectively to combat discrimination. I will work with my colleagues to thoroughly investigate how we can improve this process for the thousands of Americans who rely on it to resolve their complaints.According to the report entitled, Fair Housing: HUD Needs Better Assurance That Intake and Investigation Process Are Consistently Thorough, individuals filing complaints with the Department of Housing and Urban Developments (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Employment (FHEO) and Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies had difficulty in filing their complaints [Page 16], sometimes faced lengthy waits before their complaints were resolved, and were not asked for the appropriate information to determine if a violation of the Fair Housing Act had occurred [Page 18].The report also found that while the Fair Housing Act requires efforts by agencies to help individuals filing a complaint reach a resolution acceptable to those involved, FHEO and FHAP agencies did not always attempt to conciliate complaints, made limited efforts to do so, or did not meet HUDs requirements that they document these efforts. [Page 48]GAO also found it efforts to investigate the response to Fair Housing Act complaints was hindered by a lack of reliable data in the system created to assure the thorough investigations of complaints. [Page 22]The report states, [W]ithout comprehensive, reliable data on the dates when individuals make inquiries FHEO cannot judge how long complainants must wait before a FHAP agency undertakes an investigation, Moreover, the discrepancies we observed between the dates logged initial contacts and the corresponding dates entered into TEAPOTS [Title Eight Automated Paperless Office Tracking System] as the beginning of the inquiries indicate that FHEO does not have reliable data for measuring the extent to which its office and FHAP agencies meet the benchmark of 20 days for completing the intake process. [Page 70 Page 71]A copy of the report can be found on-line at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0679.pdfA GAO summary of the report can be found at: http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0679high.pdf