Brian Mast: “The amount of teleworking in Washington is astronomical. We all know post-pandemic it is nearly impossible to get an…”

“The amount of teleworking in Washington is astronomical. We all know post-pandemic it is nearly impossible to get an employee of a Federal agency on the phone because they are still working in their homes and not in the office. Perhaps some of the worst offenders are those at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD. According to a GAO study from July of this year, the occupancy rate of HUD's headquarters, the Robert C. Weaver Federal building, is roughly 9 percent occupancy. The building is just a stone's throw from here where we are sitting right now, and it is sitting basically empty. Why, then, I ask, are we proposing to spend $4.68 million to modernize a building that very few are using? I propose we do something else with that money. At the same time many of our Nation's veterans are living in untenable conditions, and they have lived with physical disabilities as a result of war. I am here today to argue that a better use of that $4.68 million is to support low-income veterans via the Veterans Housing Rehabilitation and Modification Pilot Program. This program provides awards through competitive grants to nonprofit organizations that provide nationwide or State programs that primarily serve low-income veterans. Once the grant is received, the veterans' homes receive modifications such as wheelchair ramps, widening door thresholds to accommodate mobility needs, shower bars, and things related to that.…”