Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to Government Accountability Office (GAO) Comptroller General Eugene Dodaro and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Inspector General Stephen M. Begg calling for an investigation into whether HUD is violating statutory requirements to maintain at least one field office in each state and to issue a public cost-benefit analysis before any closures, following reports that the Administration plans to shut down local field offices and terminate housing agency staff.

In the letter, Waters expresses concerns that HUD Secretary Turner has failed to comply with laws designed to ensure the agency operates transparently and efficiently for the Americans it serves, including provisions under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965. Additionally, Waters highlights the crucial role that HUD field offices play in local communities – especially rural communities – who depend on federal housing programs to address local housing and community development needs.

“It has been reported that Secretary Scott Turner has taken unilateral action to significantly downsize HUD’s field operations, with plans to close nearly two-thirds of field offices across the country. I am concerned about what effects this will have on families and communities across the country who rely on HUD for housing assistance, community and economic development projects, as well as enforcement of federal fair housing and civil rights laws,” wrote Congresswoman Waters. “Employees across approximately 54 field offices have localized expertise and work in communities to carry out face-to-face technical assistance, provide timely guidance to local grantees and officials to help speed up project timelines, and manage oversight and enforcement of federal statutes in each region…The Trump Administration’s proposal to close 34 field offices would severely disrupt federal housing programs, stall local development projects, and threaten the jobs of approximately 360 full-time employees.”

Congresswoman Waters concludes by requesting that GAO and the HUD OIG investigate several key issues, including whether the agency is in compliance with statutory requirements; what protocol HUD followed and what factors were considered prior to taking any actions to scale back or close HUD field offices; and what the repercussions of these actions will have on agency operations and HUD’s core mission of ensuring safe, fair, and affordable housing for all.

See the letter here.

###