Article snippet: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary MORE on Thursday sought to clarify his testimony to a House committee about the Trump administration’s plans to alter protections for homeless transgender people. Lawmakers grilled Carson on Tuesday about whether his department planned to roll back an Obama-era rule ensuring homeless transgender people are allowed to stay in single-sex shelters that match their gender identity. Carson told members of the House Financial Services Committee that he is “not currently anticipating changing” the Equal Access Rule. But one day later, HUD unveiled a proposed rule that would allow federally funded shelters to consider “privacy, safety, practical concerns, religious beliefs” in deciding to admit a person, a change that critics say could result in discrimination against transgender people. In a letter to Financial Services Committee Chairwoman considering changes to the 2016 final rule to address what he called “regulatory burdens for homelessness service providers.” He said the 2012 version of the rule, which contains other protections for LGBTQ individuals, “is not being revised” and offered to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to further explain the changes. “I abhor discrimination and want to assure you HUD is, and always will be, committed to protecting every person's right to access to our programs without fear or discrimination,” he wrote. HUD is defending the proposed change despite blowback from critics, saying it wi... Link to the full article to read more