House panel to vote on subpoenaing HUD documents

The subpoena would direct HUD to provide documents related to the agency’s ability to monitor and verify the status of the program’s construction projects.

The subcommittee first asked for the documents in November and has made repeated requests since then. 

Last summer and again in late fall, The Washington Post wrote stories criticizing the program’s oversight and results, saying there were about 700 stalled projects. 

The program provides down-payment assistance to help eligible families buy homes and housing vouchers to poor families and those on the brink of homelessness.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the newspaper was way off base with its findings, and said he tried to work with the reporters to correct the information and respond to specifics. 

“That’s a far cry from the program that I oversee as President Obama’s housing secretary and that I worked with as New York City’s housing commissioner,” Donovan said last summer. 

“The HOME program I know helps communities build affordable homes and rehab existing ones for low-income families.”

Still, in November the agency released several changes designed to cinch up federal oversight and ensure that HUD receives better information from state and local governments on the program, which provides funds directly to state and local governments to meet local affordable housing needs.

The new proposed regulations require state and local governments to improve oversight of projects, better assess risk and determine a developer’s capacity and the long-term viability of the project.

The proposed changes also require more frequent reporting by state and local governments, allowing HUD to more closely track projects and set specific time frames for taking appropriate corrective actions for projects that don’t meet deadlines.

“That’s not to suggest there isn’t a federal role,” Donovan said last summer. “We take our oversight responsibility seriously, by holding localities accountable for spending block grant funds appropriately.”

Donovan said when a project isn’t completed, the agency requires repayment of HOME funds in all cases. 

Since the start of this program in 1992, local housing agencies have repaid $250 million. That includes funds taken back from agencies mentioned in the article.