Department of Housing and Urban Development's Proposed Field Office Reorganization

GAO presented its views on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) proposed field reorganization. HUD announced its plans to reorganize its field structure in a Federal Register notice as required by law. The notice included a cost-benefit analysis showing an estimated $30.8 million net savings over 2 years and an explanation as to why HUD believes that the reorganization will have no measurable impact on any local economies and only a minimal impact on the quality of services to affected clients. GAO believes that HUD needs to reevaluate its proposed reorganization for several reasons: (1) the cost-benefit analysis is based on questionable assumptions which may overstate the true savings to the Government; (2) HUD has not determined the potential impact on the quality of service to clientele; (3) HUD is planning to reorganize in an atmosphere of major program changes and future housing policy uncertainties; and (4) proposed changes may not address management problems associated with the complex HUD organizational structure.