Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner faced a tough crowd at a congressional hearing Tuesday over the administration’s major proposed cuts to his agency.
In his appearance before the House Appropriations Committee‘s transportation, housing and urban development subcommittee, Turner took flack for the planned 51% cut to the agency included in the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) lashed out at Turner, asking him no questions, but taking her allotted time to admonish the secretary and the cuts as “devastating.”
“I am concerned about how you can even open your mouth and say that you care about these populations when you are willing to come here and advocate for a 51% reduction in the budget,” Watson Coleman said.
The cut of HUD of about $35.5 billion includes the elimination of programs such as the self-sufficiency program, which is a type of rental assistance for families in need. Some programs would be cut completely, such as the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a grant that provides low-income housing, and the Pathways to Removing Obstacles Housing, which provides competitive need-based grants. The HUD budget for fiscal 2025 was $72.6 billion. The Trump administration’s proposal for fiscal 2026 is for $43.5 billion. It is Congress, though, that will decide how much to appropriate for the agency.
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) cited Turner’s Christian faith, saying that “faith without action is dead.” Minority ranking member Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) spoke to the same sentiment, saying that Turner’s criticism of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion makes him seem uncaring.
Turner kept calm for the duration of the hearing, though he did have the opportunity to comment on the state of the New York City Housing Authority, which Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) mentioned in reference to their deficit.
The residents “are living in deplorable conditions, it’s not safe, the NYPD is not responding the way it should,” Turner said. “That’s just one example of a public housing authority being inefficient, but yet we want to continue the status quo. I’m not interested in doing business as usual, the president is not, so the answer is it’s a new culture, it’s a new paradigm.”
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA), whose state of California Turner accused of having a “stewardship issue” when it comes to the size of its homeless population, became frustrated with Turner’s accusations.
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“Here’s what makes it even more unconscionable, that you are sitting here while California sends $83 billion more in federal taxes than we receive back. We’re literally funding your salary as well as housing programs in other states while our own veterans sleep on the streets,” Torres said.
Turner’s typical response to each question was HUD had a record budget during the Biden-Harris administration, but also extremely high rates of homelessness. He also emphasized the flexibility states would receive in order to best identify and work on their own local needs.