Collins, Reed Hold Hearing Examining the Effectiveness of Housing Assistance Programs
Experts Say: U.S. Public Housing Program is a ‘Failed Business Model’
Rental assistance consumes 84 percent of HUD’s budget, yet only one in four families eligible for housing assistance receives it
Click HERE for a chart of HUD’s budget
Click HERE to watch Senator Collins’ opening statement
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, held a hearing this morning titled, “Housing Vulnerable Families and Individuals: Is There a Better Way?”
At present, rental assistance consumes 84 percent of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) entire budget, yet only one out of every four families eligible for housing assistance receives it. Today’s hearing examined HUD’s rental assistance programs and considered ways to improve their effectiveness.
“The question of how best to house families and individuals in need of assistance has simply not received the attention it deserves,” Chairman Collins stated. “We’re barely scratching the surface of serving our very low-income families. The purpose of today’s hearing is to ensure that we’re targeting federal investment to achieve better results for those families, and to produce better futures for our most vulnerable children.”
During the hearing, in response to questions from Chairman Collins, two of the witnesses, Mr. Richard Gentry, President and CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission, and Dr. Edgar Olsen, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, indicated that they both believed that the current U.S. public housing program is a “failed business model.”
In particular, Mr. Gentry compared today’s public housing program to an assembly line that was once revolutionary, but is no longer flexible or effective enough to meet 21st century demands. Referencing his experience in San Diego, Mr. Gentry stated that we must “constantly be breaking the mold” and changing our methodologies to ensure we strategically deploy our resources to help the greatest amount of people.
Witnesses for the hearing included:
- Dr. Edgar Olsen, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Virginia
- Ms. Erika Poethig, Fellow and Director of Urban Policy Initiatives, Urban Institute
- Mr. Richard Gentry, President and CEO, San Diego Housing Commission
