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HUD Names New Secretary

(Excerpts from NAHRO Monitor January 31, 2001)

The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Mel Martinez as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary.  His nomination was confirmed on January 22, 2001.

Mr. Martinez, a trail attorney by vocation has served as the elected chief executive of Orange County Florida for the past two years.  He came to the U.S. in 1962 as a teenage refugee from Cuba.  He also has served as a member of the Orlando Housing Authority and as its chairman for two years in the 1980s.. 

Martinez said his first priority would be to put the Department’s own house in order.  While praising former Secretaries, Martinez said there are still many challenges facing the Department.  For example, he cited the Federal Housing Administration’s single-family mortgage insurance risk pool; the impact and evolution of HUD’s 202 management reform; and the failure to integrate financial and information systems.

Now confirmed, Martinez said he would seek to renew distressed areas in community through President Bush’s New Prosperity Initiative.  He said he would implement the president’s imitative to provide tax credit to financial institutions that watch the saving of low-income earners, who can then withdraw the matched funds tax-free to fiancé a home, education or a business.  He has pledged to implement the American Dream Down Payment Fund, which provided $1 billion in matching grants to lenders over five years to help as many as 650,000 unassisted low-income families become homeowners.

During the question and answer period of the hearings to confirm Martinez, he commented that he was not looking to revamp HUD.  At the same time, however, he said he would consider whether the level of personnel at HUD is adequate.  For example, sufficient manpower is required to effectively manage FHA.  He also noted that the paperwork required for some of the HUD grants was too excessive and enough to discourage agencies from Application.  He added that it should not require a “HUD expert” to apply for a HUD grant. 

Senator Tom Carper (Democrat from Delaware) discussed public housing sometimes lasting for generations.  Martinez said he wanted to encourage people to move up and out of public housing.  At the same time, he noted that some individuals might always need some type of housing assistance. 

Senator Carper stressed the importance of the Community Reinvestment Act.  Martinez said he agreed that the CRA has an important role to play in helping all citizens to become homeowners.  He also said that the CRAS is important to promote fair credit.