House Financial Services Chairman Seeks HUD Restructuring Recommendations

In commemoration of HUD’s 50th anniversary, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) recently issued a call for ideas to reform HUD and modernize the delivery of federal housing assistance. According to Hensarling, HUD hasn’t met the expectations set for the agency by President Lyndon Johnson when he created the department, which was “to achieve the best administration of the principal programs of the Federal Government which provide assistance for housing.”

Hensarling stated, “Now, 50 years and more than $1.6 trillion in real dollars spent later, it is hard to conclude that HUD has lived up to those lofty aspirations. Instead of marshaling federal resources towards the goal of addressing America’s housing needs, HUD has come to symbolize the dashed hopes of the Great Society vision that mistook centralization for coordination and spending for compassion.”

Hensarling is asking industry members to submit proposals and comments on restructuring HUD to maximize its organizational efficiency; innovative approaches to address housing affordability that respect individual rights and promote individual responsibility; methods of targeting housing assistance to address generational cycles of poverty; and examples of successful implementation of such proposals at the local, national, or international level (if applicable).

Proposals and recommendations will be accepted until Nov. 1, 2015. Individuals and organizations interested in submitting ideas should send an email to the following address: transformhousing@mail.house.gov. All submissions must be sent in a Word document or PDF attachment. The file name must include the name of the organization/individual submitting the recommendations and the date. Submissions must include a cover sheet containing the contact name, organization, phone number, and email address of the organization/individual submitting the recommendations.