U.S. House Financial Services Committee holds annual oversight hearing with HUD Secretary Scott Turner on housing affordability and accountability

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee is holding its annual hearing with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), questioning Secretary Scott Turner on HUD’s reform agenda and the committee’s priorities on housing affordability and the cost of living. In prepared remarks, Chairman French Hill said HUD is reforming its structure, refocusing on core missions and rolling back what he characterised as ineffective Biden-era rules and regulations. He argued that regulatory red tape and deficiencies in HUD’s oversight framework have contributed to limited housing inventory and reduced access to affordable housing, and pointed to problems among local public housing authorities including missing funds and unsafe public housing, as well as issues with landlords in the Section 8 voucher program. Hill also highlighted the committee’s passage, in the prior month, of the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act, which aims to streamline housing development and affordability by updating programs, removing regulatory roadblocks and increasing local flexibility, alongside calls for stronger accountability to ensure reforms deliver results. The hearing is intended to review HUD’s work under Turner and to solicit his views on the Housing for the 21st Century Act and potential oversight and program changes.