top
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

HUD Secretary? Senator Elizabeth Warren’s letter to Scott Turner before nomination hearing

by Lynda Carson (newzland2 [at] gmail.com)
If Scott Turner Becomes The Next HUD Secretary, It May Result In A Lot More Homelessness and Unhoused People On The Streets!
If Scott Turner Becomes The Next HUD Secretary, It May Result In A Lot More Homelessness and Unhoused People On The Streets!
HUD Secretary? Senator Elizabeth Warren’s letter to Scott Turner before nomination hearing

By Lynda Carson - January 14, 2025

On Thursday, January 16, 2025, the COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings/01/09/2025/nomination-hearing will meet in OPEN SESSION to conduct a hearing on the following nomination: Mr. Eric Scott Turner, to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A January 12, 2025, letter with questions in it from Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Ranking Member of the COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS sent to Scott Turner, puts Scott Turner on the spot.

Convicted felon Donald J. Trump’s pick Scott Turner to be the next HUD Secretary has no idea how to run a federal agency like HUD that is a significant administrative responsibility. Reportedly, “HUD’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget was approximately $70 billion. The Department employs over 8,000 employees and relies on thousands of local housing authorities and private property owners to carry out its initiatives.”

Additionally, according to public records, Scott Turner’s past voting record in Texas reveals that Turner is not a good choice to be the next HUD Secretary, and reveals that he may hate the poor.

According to a recent article by ProPublica https://www.propublica.org/article/scott-turner-hud-nominee-trump-public-housing-texas , Scott Turner supported a bill ensuring landlords could refuse apartments to applicants because they received federal housing assistance.

https://capitol.texas.gov/billlookup/History.aspx?LegSess=84R&Bill=SB267

He also opposed a bill to expand affordable rental housing.

https://capitol.texas.gov/billlookup/History.aspx?LegSess=83R&Bill=HB3350

He also voted against funding public-private partnerships to support the homeless.

https://capitol.texas.gov/billlookup/Actions.aspx?LegSess=83R&Bill=HB2887

And he voted against two bills that called merely to study homelessness among young people and veterans.

https://capitol.texas.gov/billlookup/Actions.aspx?LegSess=84R&Bill=HB679

Scott Turner has also declared that welfare is “dangerous, harmful” and “one of the most destructive things for the family.”

https://wellversedworld.podbean.com/e/opportunity-zones-authentically-raising-the-poor-w-scott-turner-and-kevin-mcgary-%E2%80%93-6112023/

When one interviewer said receiving government assistance was keeping recipients in “bondage” of “a worse form to find oneself in than slavery,” and Scott Turner agreed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRPRjBhI53w&t=367s

Scott Turner also opposed legislation to help public housing authorities replace or rehabilitate their property

https://capitol.texas.gov/billlookup/History.aspx?LegSess=83R&Bill=HB1888

He also sought to require drug testing for poor families applying for government assistance, the Houston Chronicle reported at the time.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/drug-testing-welfare-applicants-popular-but-can-4416545.php

Questions To Scott Turner:

Below are a few questions in the letter by Senator Elizabeth Warren that was mailed to Scott Turner on January 12, 2025, at P.O. Box 509 Arlington, VA 22216.

In part the letter says, “We are experiencing a nationwide housing shortage. By some estimates, the United States needs approximately 5 million units to fill the gap. There are a number of explanations for this crisis, including unnecessary local barriers and land use restrictions, decades of government disinvestment, and the high cost of capital for construction. As HUD Secretary, if confirmed, you would play a key role in leading the federal government’s response to this crisis.”

(EW) While serving as Chief Visionary Officer of JPI, a multifamily housing developer, you stated that, “[w]ith the ever growing need for high-quality, affordable housing in our Nation, JPI remains dedicated to meeting this crucial need.”

a. Do you continue to believe there is a “growing need for high-quality, affordable housing in our Nation”?

b. Are you committed to using the tools of the federal government to increase the supply of affordable housing as HUD Secretary?

For the record: Scott Turner is presently working for the company (JPI Construction) that has been cited as recent as 2021, for alleged wage theft violations of over $1.7 million dollars.

Click here https://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2021/2021-104.html for more about JPI Construction for allegedly cheating their workers with wage theft, a company that Scott Turner works for.

Additionally, reportedly, on June 25, 2012, "The Justice Department today announced its largest-ever disability-based housing discrimination settlement fund to resolve allegations that JPI Construction L.P. and six other JPI entities (collectively “JPI”) based in Irving, Texas, discriminated on the basis of disability in the design and construction of multifamily housing complexes throughout the United States.
 
Under the settlement, which was approved today by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, JPI will pay $10,250,000 into an accessibility fund to provide retrofits at properties built by JPI and to increase the stock of accessible housing in the communities where these properties are located.  The settlement also requires JPI to pay a $250,000 civil penalty. 

This is the largest civil penalty the Justice Department has obtained in any Fair Housing Act case.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-obtains-landmark-105-million-settlement-resolve-disability-based-housing


(EW) President-elect Trump has suggested that undocumented immigrants are to blame for America’s housing crisis and called for mass deportations. However, roughly 30 percent of construction workers in America are immigrants, and economists have found that mass deportation would reduce the supply of skilled construction workers by 1.5 million, driving up the cost of housing even further.

a. Do you believe that immigration is the primary cause of housing unaffordability? Please provide data to explain your position.

b. Do you support mass deportation as a solution to the housing crisis?


(EW) HUD administers programs designed to preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing units across the country, including the Housing Trust Fund (HTF), the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing). President-elect Trump has repeatedly called for cuts to HUD programs, and Project 2025 specifically calls for eliminating “the new Housing Supply Fund.”

a. The HTF provides grants to states to build and preserve affordable rental housing for low-income households, particularly the lowest-income households. Do you support protecting and expanding investments in the HTF? Would you oppose efforts to cut or eliminate this fund?

b. HOME is the largest block grant to states and localities to build and preserve affordable housing, both for renters and homeowners. Do you support protecting and expanding investments in HOME? Would you oppose efforts to cut or eliminate this program?

c. PRO Housing provides grants to local communities that are actively taking steps to remove barriers to increasing the supply of affordable housing. Do you support protecting and expanding investments in PRO Housing? Would you oppose efforts to cut or eliminate these investments?

Additionally, according to Elizabeth Warren (EW), HUD plays a critical role in supporting renters across the country. It does so in part by supporting public housing and offering rental assistance through project-based rental assistance and the Housing Choice Voucher program, helping over 6 million Americans keep a roof over their heads. However, largely due to persistent underfunding of HUD, many families that desperately need housing assistance aren’t able to obtain it, are pushed to their financial limits with high rent and unnecessary rental fees, or are forced to live in unsafe conditions.

Congress has persistently underfunded the Public Housing Capital Fund, leading to an estimated $70 billion backlog of maintenance and repairs and the loss of approximately 10,000 units per year. The majority of residents of public housing are either children (35 percent), seniors (20 percent), or people with a disability (24 percent).

a. Are you concerned about the condition of our public housing stock?

b. How would you prioritize and address this repair backlog if you were confirmed to lead HUD?

c. Will you request additional resources from Congress to address the capital needs in our public housing stock?


(EW) Public reporting suggests that one of your priorities is to “hold corrupt public housing agencies accountable.”

a. What constitutes a “corrupt public housing agency?

b. What tools do you have for identifying them and holding them accountable, and how do you intend to use them?

c. How will you ensure that residents are safely housed if mismanagement is found at their public housing agency?


(EW) Vouchers currently help more than 2 million low-income households afford decent, stable housing, reducing homelessness and housing instability. However, Congress has not appropriated sufficient money for vouchers, and as a result, only 1 in 4 households who are eligible for federal housing assistance receive it.

a. Do you support protecting and expanding investments in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program to help low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities secure housing?

b. Thirty-four states and the federal government do not have protections that prohibit landlords from discriminating against potential tenants, including veterans, because they wish to use vouchers.

In the Texas House of Representatives, you supported legislation that enabled landlords to reject potential tenants because they received federal housing assistance. Why did you support this legislation? Do you support instituting federal protections to prohibit source-of-income discrimination?

c. Given the gap between the number of people eligible for federal rental assistance and the number of people receiving federal rental assistance, what will you do to ensure that there is sufficient funding for federal rental assistance so that every family can secure safe and decent housing?

During his first term, President Trump proposed raising rents and cutting housing benefits for HUD households in several ways.

a. For instance, his proposal would have raised rents by “authorizing HUD to require state and local housing agencies and private owners of subsidized housing to raise rents from 30 percent of a low-income family’s income to 35 percent, and to eliminate deductions from these calculations for factors that reduce a household’s ability to pay rent, such as high medical or child-related expenses.” Would you oppose any new proposal to raise rents for subsidized housing above the current threshold? Would you oppose any new proposal to eliminate deductions in rent calculations for subsidized housing?

b. The proposal also would have raised rents by “letting HUD make virtually any change to the rent rules for the housing voucher program, including imposing unlimited rent increases.”34 Would you oppose any new proposal that would allow HUD to impose unlimited rent increases?

c. Would you oppose any other proposal to charge these families higher rents?

(HW) Hidden junk fees, such as application fees, pet fees, administrative fees, late fees, and convenience fees, can create thousands of dollars in additional costs for renters. These fees can increase a tenant’s risk of eviction for nonpayment of rent and the likelihood that tenants accumulate rental debt, hindering their ability to obtain housing in the future. What would you do as HUD Secretary to tackle junk fees in the rental housing market?

Addressing Homelessness:

(EW) America is experiencing record levels of homelessness. According to the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, on a single night in 2024, approximately 771,000 people experienced homelessness. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of people who entered an emergency shelter for the first time increased by over 23 percent. The rising need for homelessness services has put a strain on shelter systems, where demand is outpacing capacity. However, instead of expanding resources, during his first term, President Trump slashed housing assistance and community development aid in his budget. President-elect Trump now says that he will use “every tool, lever and authority to get the homeless off our streets…then open up large parcels of inexpensive land, bring in doctors, psychiatrists, social workers and drug rehab specialists and create tent cities where the homeless can be relocated.

1. Do you believe a principal cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing?

2. President-elect Trump vowed to “make it a personal mission to totally eradicate Veterans’ homelessness in America by the end of next term.” During the Biden Administration, veteran homelessness dropped to the lowest level on record after targeted federal investments in housing assistance and legal services.

a. Will you continue the Biden Administration’s successful “Housing First” approach to addressing veteran homelessness, centered on expanded investments in housing assistance, outreach, and legal services assistance?

b. What other steps will you take as HUD Secretary to achieve President-elect Trump’s stated goal?

(EW) Project 2025 calls for ending “Housing First.”

a. Do you support Housing First policies?

b. Would you oppose efforts to end Housing First policies?

(EW) Do you support expanding access to voluntary supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, such as mental health services and substance use counseling? If so, how do you plan to provide for this increased access?

(EW) Public reporting suggests that one of your priorities is to “work[] with states to ban urban camping.” How will this help people access housing? How do you plan on achieving this objective?

(EW) Under what circumstances do you support creating “tent cities” and government-sanctioned encampments, as President-elect Trump has proposed?

(EW) The McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act allows for the transfer of suitable surplus federal property to localities to pursue shelter and housing options. Would you work with the General Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, two federal agencies also responsible for administering McKinney-Vento transfers, to ease the process for facilitating such transfers?

Fair Housing

(EW) Individuals and families continue to experience discrimination in housing, whether while navigating the harms of decades of redlining or when being denied equal access to rental housing and homeownership. HUD plays a crucial role in combating discriminatory housing practices by enforcing federal housing law, such as the Fair Housing Act, and developing and implementing new policies to address new forms of discrimination, such as algorithmic bias.

During the first Trump Administration, HUD proposed—and later withdrew—a rule change that would have prohibited families, where some of the family members are legal residents but not American citizens, from receiving certain forms of federal housing assistance. As HUD Secretary, how do you plan to keep families with mixed immigration status together in federal assisted housing?

HUD’s “Discriminatory Effects” rule prohibits any housing policy with discriminatory effects “if it was not necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest or if a less discriminatory alternative could also serve that interest.” Will you preserve HUD’s “Discriminatory Effects” rule?

HUD’s “Equal Access” rule requires that HUD-assisted housing be made available to individuals and families regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status, consistent with recent Supreme Court jurisprudence. What is your plan to implement HUD’s “Equal Access” rule?

As HUD Secretary, what are your enforcement priorities? Would you plan to continue to bring enforcement actions against entities that violate fair housing and civil rights laws? Would you weaken the standards currently used by HUD to bring such enforcement actions?

(EW) HUD’s housing and development programs have a profound impact on the lives of millions of Americans, especially in the midst of our housing affordability crisis. The agency needs and deserves a strong, capable leader who believes in its mission and has the interest and ability to carry out that mission. I ask that you come to your hearing prepared to provide answers to my questions so that the Senate—and the American people—can understand how you plan to lead this agency and lower housing costs for families. Sincerely, Elizabeth Warren Ranking Member Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

The above questions are just some of the questions in the January 12, 2025, letter sent to Scott Turner, by Senator Elizabeth Warren.

For those of you who wish to send a message to Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats on the the COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS to oppose Scott Turner as the next HUD Secretary, click on the link below…

Oppose Scott Turner As Next HUD Secretary

Monday, January 13, 2025

Click on link below for full details….

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2025/01/13/18872164.php

Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com

>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$130.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network