Dozens of HUD Field Offices Under Threat

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is on the verge of a seismic shift, one that would run afoul of federal law.

HUD is poised to close dozens of field offices across the country, Bloomberg reported. Department staff and a union representing federal workers disclosed the plans for the department, which would leave 34 states without field offices.

Entire regions would be left unattended by HUD. A regional hub in Seattle is expected to close, impacting three states at once. The San Francisco regional office is also believed to be in danger of closing. Ohio is expected to end up without a field office, too.

Staff at the various field offices are responsible for underwriting mortgage insurance for hundreds of thousands of people across the country each year. The Federal Housing Administration, which is being gutted alongside HUD, is responsible for that underwriting.

The function is important enough that federal law mandates at least one field office to be in each state in the country to help process applications for mortgages. Any plan that leaves states without a field office is supposed to go through Congress, according to Antonio Gaines, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National Council 222; the union represents 5,300 HUD employees.

Should the Trump administration follow through on its plan for HUD, processing mortgage insurance for single-family homes, affordable apartment buildings, hospitals and nursing facilities is expected to become more difficult.

“No decisions have been finalized, however the department is exploring consolidation while continuing to prioritize service,” a HUD spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Among those blasting the plan are Julia Gordon, former assistant secretary for housing and FHA commissioner.

“There is no evidence of an overarching strategic plan or any clarity or transparency about the criteria used to eliminate staff positions or field and regional offices,” Gordon said.

Closing field offices is not the only way the government’s housing agency appears destined to lose much of its capabilities. Last month, Gaines revealed that about half of HUD’s workforce was in danger of being laid off. Shortly thereafter, reports stated the Trump Administration was planning to eliminate at least 40 percent of the workers at the FHA.

— Holden Walter-Warner