Concerns are rising that major cuts will take place at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Leading Democratic senators sent a letter demanding that HUD stop further staff cuts at the agency, saying staff reductions would further exacerbate the housing crisis and prevent HUD from meeting critical functions.
The move follows reports that the department fired hundreds of probationary employees on Feb. 14 and is planning to cut the workforce by 50% or nearly 4,300 people, according to Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“Between 2012-2019, HUD’s staffing levels fell by over 20%,” reads the letter. “During that time, independent audits from the HUD Office of Inspector General and U.S. Government Accountability Office repeatedly pointed to capacity gaps across HUD. This includes not having enough staff to support communities devastated by disasters, not having enough staff to meet HUD’s legal obligations under the Fair Housing Act, and not having enough staff to process applications that would allow for more housing to be built faster.”
Congress has worked to address the inadequacies through the annual appropriations bill, according to the senators, noting that HUD’s staffing capacity was near its 2012 levels when Turner took office Feb. 5.
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