Purpose of, Funding for, and Views on Certain HUD Programs

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) programs. GAO noted that: (1) most of the grantees and HUD officials it talked to believed that programs that the HUD Office of the Inspector General identified as not related to the Department's core mission provided worthwhile services; (2) HUD grantees and programs officials do not believe that state, local, and private entities will provide support for HUD activities if federal funding ceases; (3) some grantees and program officials believed that HUD should be responsible for providing social services and technical assistance in addition to housing, while others believed that HUD lacked the expertise and experience to provide such service; and (4) grantees and HUD officials agreed that the HUD programs that OIG identified supported the HUD legislative mandate of providing housing to low-and very-low-income people.