Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I intend to object to consideration of the nomination of Lourdes Castro Ramirez to be the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, for the Office of Public and Indian Housing. Over the last 4 years, I have been raising concerns about serious problems at public housing authorities and HUD's failure to address them. The Office of Public and Indian Housing is responsible for overseeing the public housing authority program. I recently learned that HUD is negotiating new, 10-year contracts with the 39 housing authorities participating in the Moving to Work, MTW, demonstration program. The Office of Public and Indian Housing is also responsible for administering this program but has failed to conduct proper oversight for years. The current contracts don't expire until 2018 so there is no need to rush into signing new contracts. Instead, I recommend HUD takes serious steps to address the program deficiencies and determine if this demonstration should continue. A group of housing advocacy organizations sent a letter to HUD on November 7, 2014, raising concerns about the lack of transparency in the MTW contract negotiations. I am requesting that a copy of this letter be included with my statement in the Record. These organizations represent the people directly impacted by HUD decisions. They are asking questions that would strengthen the program and protect funding from abuse.…”