HUD nominee breezing through confirmation hearing

Shaun Donovan, President-elect Obama’s nominee to head
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), looked set for smooth sailing
through the confirmation process Tuesday.

Donovan, a former top HUD staffer who has
served for nearly five years as commissioner of New York City’s Department of
Housing Preservation and Development, won praise from both sides of the aisle
as senators voiced hope he would be able to bring the foreclosure crisis under
control.

{mosads}“You will be one of the most significant figures in our
overall financial economy,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.).

Donovan said the foreclosure crisis facing American
homeowners is his top priority and added that the incoming Obama administration
is set to offer “a bold and comprehensive plan that will address the crisis.”

“HUD needs to work with the Treasury, the Federal Housing
Finance Agency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to help stabilize
our housing markets,” Donovan said. “We need to make sure our mortgage markets
and other financial markets are transparent, open and fair.”

The nominee and committee members largely agreed on the
importance of bolstering the nation’s rental housing market and of addressing
the growing homeless population around the country. Donovan also said he would
streamline HUD’s personnel and information technology systems.

“You have not had the information you need to be able to
make judgments about how [HUD] is running, whether we’re making progress,”
Donovan told senators. “I pledge to do everything I can to make sure you have
the information you need.”

Widely praised for his work in New York City, Donovan won
adulation from senators from across the country, including one who knows more
than most about the agency Donovan seeks to lead.

“You are unusually qualified for the job,” Sen. Mel
Martinez (R-Fla.), President Bush’s first HUD secretary, said. Turning to
fellow committee members, Martinez went further: “He’s far more qualified than I
was and perhaps the attorney general of New York was at the time,” he said,
referring to Clinton HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo.

Martinez and Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) said they would
vote to confirm Donovan, barring unforeseen circumstances. Sen. Richard Shelby
(R-Ala.), the committee’s ranking member, offered little resistance, though he
did submit an additional list of questions for Donovan.

Shelby said he would not hold up the nomination. A
committee vote on Donovan is expected before the end of the week.