Alsobrooks, Warren, Smith Question HUD Secretary on Alarming Consequences of New DOGE Task Force on Housing for Americans
“DOGE’s actions thus far at other agencies have caused widespread chaos, hampered the ability of agencies to do their work, and provided potentially illegal data access to individuals with conflicts of interest. There is no indication that DOGE’s work at HUD will be any less detrimental.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, sent a letter to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Scott Turner, questioning the alarming consequences of the recently announced “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) Task Force on HUD’s ability to support vulnerable communities.
The DOGE Task Force plans reportedly include laying off 50% of its workforce, eliminating half of HUD’s field offices serving local communities across the country, and gutting programs that protect families and people with disabilities from discrimination, address our homelessness crisis, and provide resources to communities to tackle our housing shortage and recover from disasters. There are also reports that HUD is terminating the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which was provided by Congress to help repair and improve efficiency in homes for families, seniors, and people with disabilities. These funds have already been awarded and obligated to nonprofits and other housing providers to improve more than 30,000 homes all across the country - but now DOGE at HUD is trying to claw these funds back.
“HUD engages in critical work supporting communities in expanding their housing supply, providing rental assistance, and preventing homelessness—work that is urgently important for millions of Americans looking to purchase a home to build generational wealth or find an affordable place to rent,” wrote the senators. “Axing these offices will handicap the Department’s ability to serve the American public and exacerbate the housing crisis we currently find ourselves in.”
The senators are also seeking clarity on the DOGE Task Force’s overall objectives and how it is defining waste.
“In addition to personnel cuts, you also announced that HUD and DOGE have identified $260 million in savings on wasteful contracts. If this represents legitimate waste, we are happy to work with you to wipe it out,” wrote the senators. “But to date, there has been no transparency about DOGE’s involvement, or what exactly it is finding. We ask that you provide additional information on the allegedly wasteful spending identified by DOGE, and a clear accounting of how these funds have been misused. ”
The Senators have requested detailed information from Secretary Turner by February 26, 2025, urging immediate transparency to protect the interests of American families.
Alsobrooks and Warren were joined by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Warner, Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
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