House Financial Services Committee members of both parties Wednesday pushed back against a bipartisan Senate proposal to permanently authorize a federal disaster recovery program administered through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Lawmakers cited HUD’s difficulty in quickly administering the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, issues grantees face in spending the money and the department’s difficulty conducting oversight.
“That’s a dizzying set of problems for a program that has received over $100 billion since its conception,” said House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chair Mike Flood (R-Neb.) at a hearing on the program Wednesday.
Full committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) said CDBG-DR “lacks permanent authorization, clear objectives and consistent program rules.”
