THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

The President today announced the appointment of Elizabeth Julian of Texas to serve as assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Julian will serve as a recess appointee. She was nominated on Aug. 10, 1995, and her nomination is pending before the Senate.

Julian presently serves as deputy assistant secretary for policy and initiatives, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Development at HUD. In this capacity, she has primary responsibility for the development of policy, guidance, procedures and regulations for FHEO programs and initiatives. Prior to this appointment, Julian was deputy general counsel for civil rights and litigation at HUD where she directed the negotiations and settlements of several major civil rights cases pending against the department. As deputy general counsel she also developed remedies which redirected the department's resources from costly litigation to addressing longstanding problems of segregation and discrimination in housing and community development programs funded by the department.

The assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity advises the secretary on policies and issues affecting opportunity in housing, community development, community facilities, business opportunities and other housing matters related to civil rights. In addition, the assistant secretary administers the department's programs for developing, implementing and monitoring programs such as the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. The President has recess appointed Julian because of the need to ensure that the fair housing and equal opportunity programs and policies enacted and enforced by this office are carried out.

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