Senator Questions HUD Secretary on Homelessness Record During Hearing

A Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development hearing on Thursday included a pointed exchange over the nation's homelessness numbers and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's performance. The HUD secretary told the subcommittee that more than 771,000 people were homeless at a single point in time in 2024, the highest recorded mark in U.S. history.

The secretary noted this occurred despite record funding levels and said street homelessness had increased. The New York Democrat interrupted and asked the secretary to report results after more than a year in the position. She inquired whether the number of homeless people had decreased from roughly 700,000 or risen to a million or 1.5 million.

The senator stated that the committee would support changes if the goals were sound but wanted to see measurable outcomes. She also criticized the department for the delayed release of the latest homelessness report. The secretary, who took office in February 2025, responded that prior approaches had not succeeded and expressed confidence in implementing different strategies.

The senator interrupted again and said the secretary should focus on the current record rather than previous administrations. She described the discussion as inaccurate and unhelpful to the committee's work. The secretary attributed the reporting delay to a 43-day government shutdown that occurred in the fall.

The secretary began to reference conditions during the prior administration, prompting the senator to cut him off once more. She compared the exchange to children blaming each other and urged the secretary to explain the current record without excuses.

The senator asked the secretary whether he understood the experience of a homeless child who relies on a specialized Girl Scout troop for consistency. She repeated that she needed to know whether the department's approaches were producing results. In its 2024 point-in-time report, the department stated that several factors likely contributed to the record high.

Those included a worsening national affordable housing crisis, rising inflation, stagnating wages among middle- and lower-income households, and the persisting effects of systemic racism. The report, which spans 117 pages, said these pressures had stretched homelessness services systems to their limits.

Since taking office, the secretary has criticized the Housing First policy used under the former administration, which provided housing first and then offered voluntary services. During the hearing the secretary reiterated that position. He said he was speaking from direct knowledge and that the Housing First model had failed.

The secretary said the latest point-in-time report would have been released by now absent the 43-day government shutdown last fall. The shutdown occurred after the current administration took office in January 2025.

The secretary has advocated shifting away from the prior Housing First approach since assuming the role in February 2025. He told the senator he was focused on what he knows from experience rather than secondhand information.