Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday for his first oversight hearing since taking office, a session marked by a sharp partisan divide over the present state and future course of federal housing policy.
While Republicans championed the administration’s deregulation efforts and new approaches to homelessness, Democrats accused the secretary of dismantling the agency’s civil rights infrastructure and purging essential staff.
During the hearing, both parties acknowledged the severity of the U.S. housing crisis, citing high interest rates and a shortage of affordable housing. However, the agreement mostly ended there.
Republicans, including committee chair French Hill of Arkansas, praised Turner’s efforts to streamline the agency. Hill highlighted the Housing for the 21st Century Act, proposed legislation intended to modernize HUD programs and reduce costs for consumers.
Hill said America’s housing challenges are compounded “by the deficiencies in HUD’s oversight framework and regulatory red tape” that have limited housing inventory and reduced access to affordable housing. He called for bipartisan efforts to address the regulatory barriers that exacerbate the housing crisis.
Turner testified that his tenure has focused on fiscal responsibility and organizational efficiency. He referenced the discovery of nearly $5 billion in potential improper payments within the agency in fiscal year 2024, holding this up as a demonstration of HUD’s commitment to these goals.
“To help prevent fraud, waste and abuse, we are taking steps to improve recipient and subrecipient reporting, enhance HUD monitoring capabilities and streamline grants management,” said Turner, adding that the agency is also focused on “rooting out corruption at public housing authorities and private multifamily owners,” citing HUD’s focus on corruption in Atlantic City, N.J., as an example.
The more contentious parts of the hearing centered on HUD’s workforce reductions and discontinuation of Biden-era fair housing programs. Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and other Democrats criticized the administration for staffing cuts, with Waters asserting that “forcing hundreds of public servants out the door does not make HUD more efficient. It makes the agency weaker, and does nothing to make housing affordable.”
Waters also cited reports that HUD terminated over 780 employees and noted the rollback of policies that protected the LGBTQ community, unhoused people and other vulnerable communities.
Immigration was another flashpoint. Turner linked the strain on public housing resources to illegal immigration, echoing statements he has made before. He stated that HUD was committed to ensuring taxpayer dollars support “American citizens only.”
Throughout the hearing, Democrats pushed back on the administration’s approach to immigration, raising concerns about HUD’s policies, which they said may separate families and increase homelessness.
