Congress has once again passed a continuing resolution (CR), a temporary spending measure, which will keep the federal government operating for another week. The “CR” will fund federal programs at 2002 spending levels through October 11.
While uncertainty still looms over the appropriations process, the House VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to consider its bill next week. Whether this bill actually makes it to the House floor, much less the President’s desk, is another question. The appropriations process remains log jammed.
The Senate has begun the preliminary debates on resolutions to authorize the use of force in Iraq. This issue is likely to dominate the Congressional agenda next week, as President Bush plans to address the nation Monday night.
There was significant HUD-related activity at the committee levels in each chamber.
The Senate Banking Committee held confirmation hearings on the following housing-related nominations: Mr. Alberto Faustino Trevino, of California, nominated to be HUD’s Assistant Secretary of Policy Development and Research; Ms. Carolyn Y. Peoples, of Maryland, nominated to be HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity; and Ms. Diana E. Furchtgott-Roth, of Maryland, to be a Director of the Federal Housing Finance Board.
On the House side, Secretary Mel Martinez testified before the House Financial Services Committee in support of HUD’s proposed rule to reform the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The Secretary’s testimony can be viewed at: https://www.hud.gov/offices/cir/test100302mm.cfm
The House Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management, and Intergovernmental Relations held a hearing entitled, “Disappearing Tax Dollars: What Changes Are Needed?” The hearing focused around a General Accounting Office (GAO) study of improper payments at HUD and the U.S. Department of Education. HUD’s Chief Financial Officer, Angela M. Antonelli, testified. With respect to HUD, GAO’s witness focused on how the agency’s lack of internal controls and insufficient oversight contributed to improper, questionable, unsupported, and sometimes fraudulent use of purchase cards by HUD employees and improper, questionable, unsupported, and possibly fraudulent payment to one of HUD’s property management contractors for HUD owned apartments, nursing homes, and hospitals.
Most of HUD’s testimony responded to the GAO report. However, Antonelli also discussed erroneous payments in rental assistance. She noted that the net overpayments in annual rental assistance are “over $2 billion.” The Secretary’s strategy for addressing this problem, “calls for the provision of improved program guidance and training, development of automated processing tools, increased income data sharing, enhanced incentives and sanctions, the pursuit of program simplification, and increased monitoring.” The President’s goal is to reduce the erroneous rental housing payments by 50 percent by 2005. She then noted OMB and congressional support to achieve this goal would be necessary, and “Of particular importance is the need for statutory authority to perform computer matching with available Federal sources of income data for use by HUD and HUD’s program administrators in correctly calculating housing assistance.”
GAO’s testimony can be found on the internet at https://www.gao.gov/. Ms. Antonelli’s testimony can be found at https://www.hud.gov/offices/cir/test100302a.cfm.