[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H233-H234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RALEIGH HOUSING AUTHORITY/HUD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Holding) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, at a time when the national debt is over 
$17 trillion and growing by the second, the government continues to 
borrow and spend money that we simply do not have. Each day that we do 
not address this problem, the American people continue to lose faith in 
Washington's ability to spend their tax dollars wisely.
  Mr. Speaker, one of our jobs as Members of Congress is to provide 
aggressive oversight as to how our tax dollars

[[Page H234]]

are being spent by the Federal agencies. The American people already 
see the government take far too much of their hard-earned paychecks, 
and they have a right to know how these dollars are being spent.
  People across the country are struggling to find jobs and make ends 
meet. Now, imagine how frustrating it is for them to find out that some 
public officials are making extravagant salaries and receiving overly 
generous compensation packages, partially funded by the very dollars 
that they, the taxpayers, are sending to Washington.
  What kind of message does that send? It makes the public lose faith 
in their elected officials, and it is morally wrong.
  Reports in the Raleigh News and Observer indicate that in my home 
State of North Carolina, the executive director of the Raleigh Housing 
Authority is paid over $280,000 annually and is also allowed to take up 
to 11 weeks of vacation and compensation time. The Raleigh Housing 
Authority is funded largely by Federal taxpayer dollars doled out by 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  The practices at RHA certainly raise a red flag about how Federal 
dollars are being spent by local agencies. Last week, I requested a 
Federal audit of the RHA to make certain that they are adhering to the 
law. I also joined with Senator Chuck Grassley, who is a longtime 
advocate for oversight of public housing authorities, to send a letter 
to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan requesting more answers and 
documentation regarding the questionable salary and compensation 
practices at the Raleigh Housing Authority.
  HUD needs to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent 
appropriately by the RHA and housing authorities across the country. 
HUD funds are intended for affordable housing for those in need, not 
for excessive compensation packages.
  The RHA needs to justify their compensation and salary practices. The 
audit should publicize how the RHA has spent Federal money, how much is 
wasted, and what and how it can do to eliminate further wasteful 
spending while continuing to fulfill its mission.
  Mr. Speaker, government transparency at RHA is not just important to 
my home State of North Carolina but to all of our government agencies. 
We are already spending Federal money at an unsustainable rate, and we 
need to eliminate areas where taxpayer dollars are being abused. If we 
do not ensure government transparency and cut wasteful spending, we 
will not only lose the faith of the American people completely, but our 
economy will continue to spiral downward.

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