[House Report 119-201]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-201
======================================================================
HUD TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2025
_______
July 15, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hill of Arkansas, from the Committee on Financial Services,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 225]
The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 225) to require the Inspector General of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development to testify before
the Congress annually, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 2
Related Hearings................................................. 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 8
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 8
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 8
New Budget Authority and CBO Cost Estimate....................... 8
Unfunded Mandates Statement...................................... 8
Earmark Statement................................................ 8
Federal Advisory Committee Act Statement......................... 8
Applicability to the Legislative Branch.......................... 9
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 9
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 9
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 9
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``HUD Transparency Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY.
Not later than October 1 of each year, the Inspector General of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development shall appear before the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and
present testimony on the Office of Inspector General's--
(1) efforts to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse;
(2) ability to conduct and supervise audits, investigations,
and reviews;
(3) actions to identify opportunities for the programs of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development to progress and
succeed;
(4) recommendations to improve overall efficiency and public
accountability of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development;
(5) assessment of the extent to which the Department of
Housing and Urban Development has resources sufficient to carry
out its statutory mission; and
(6) ongoing activities regarding any such additional work, as
appropriate.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 225, the HUD Transparency Act of 2025, was introduced
on January 7, 2025, by Representative Monica De La Cruz (TX-
15). H.R. 225 would require the Inspector General of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development to testify before
Congress annually.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Although the heads of several Federal agencies that fall
under the jurisdiction of the Committee, including Treasury,
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, are required by
various statutes to testify before the Committee, no such
similar requirement exists for the Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD). This limits the Committee's
opportunities to perform oversight of a Department that
employed over 9,000 full time employees and had an annual
enacted gross discretionary budget authority of more than $77
billion in 2024.
Lacking a formal oversight requirement for the agency, the
Committee relies heavily on the work of the HUD Office of
Inspector General (IG) and its mission to ``promote economy,
efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of HUD
programs.'' However, prior to the IG's appearance in 2023, the
Committee had gone five years since it had last heard testimony
from the IG regarding the ongoing activities of HUD. That is
the rationale behind H.R. 225, the HUD Transparency Act of
2025, which would, for the first time, require the IG to
testify annually before the House Committee on Financial
Services and Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs (Committees).
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
119TH CONGRESS
On January 7, 2025, Representative De La Cruz introduced
H.R. 225, the HUD Transparency Act of 2025, with
Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN), John Rose (R-TN), Michael
Lawler (R-NY), Daniel Meuser (R-PA), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and
Harriet Hageman (R-WY) as original cosponsors. Representatives
Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Roger Williams (R-
TX), Tim Moore (R-NC), Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Pete Sessions
(R-TX) were added subsequently as cosponsors. The bill was
referred solely to the Committee on Financial Services. The
bill was attached to the April 8, 2025, hearing titled
``Decades of Dysfunction: Restoring Accountability at HUD.''
On June 10, 2025, the Committee on Financial Services met
in open session to consider, among others, H.R. 225. The
Committee ordered H.R. 225, as amended, to be reported
favorably to the House of Representatives.
118TH CONGRESS
On February 7, 2024, Representative De La Cruz introduced
H.R. 7280, the HUD Transparency Act of 2024, with
Representatives Andy Barr (R-KY), Andrew Ogles (R-TN), Byron
Donalds (R-FL), Lawler, Crenshaw, Mike Flood (R-NE), Meuser,
Huizenga, Rose, Ralph Norman (R-SC), Randy Weber (R-TX),
Michael McCaul (R-TX), Bill Posey (R-FL), Loudermilk, Williams,
Hageman, Wagner, and Katie Porter (D-CA) as original
cosponsors. Representatives Erin Houchin (R-IN), Alexander
Mooney (R-WV), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Brandon Williams (R-NY), and
Emmer were added subsequently as cosponsors. This bill is an
earlier iteration of H.R. 225. The bill was referred solely to
the Committee on Financial Services.
On June 21, 2023, the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
of the Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled
``HUD Oversight: Testimony of the HUD Inspector General'' to
examine matters relating to H.R. 7280. A discussion draft
version of H.R. 7280 was included in the hearing. On February
29, 2024, the Committee ordered H.R. 7280 to be reported
favorably to the House of Representatives by a vote of 50 yeas
and 0 nays.
On July 22, 2024, the House suspended the rules and passed
the bill by voice vote. It was received in the Senate and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs.
RELATED HEARINGS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following hearing was used to
develop H.R. 225:
The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the
Committee on Financial Services held an April 8, 2025, hearing
titled ``Decades of Dysfunction: Restoring Accountability at
HUD'' to examine issues related to H.R. 225. The following
witness testified at the hearing: Mr. Stephen M. Begg, Acting
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee Report to include for
each record vote on a motion to report the measure or matter
and on any amendments offered to the measure or matter the
total number of votes for and against and the names of the
Members voting for and against.
On June 10, 2025, the Committee ordered H.R. 225, as
amended, to be reported favorably to the House by a recorded
vote of 50 yeas and 1 nay, a quorum being present. (Record Vote
No. FC-140).
The Committee considered the following amendments to H.R.
225:
Representative De La Cruz offered an
amendment in the nature of a substitute, which made
minor edits and technical changes. This amendment was
adopted by a voice vote.
Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) offered
an amendment (No. 3), designated HR225_02. This
amendment would direct the HUD IG to investigate and
report to Congress on the impacts of the Department of
Government Efficiency's (DOGE) termination of staff,
closure of field offices, and the repeal of rules. This
amendment failed by a recorded vote of 21 yeas and 30
nays, a quorum being present. (Record Vote No. FC-138).
Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
offered an amendment (No. 4), designated VELAZ_043.
This amendment would require any Federal monitor or
receiver that has provided oversight of a Public
Housing Agency (PHA) during the previous year to
testify before the Committees prior to October 1
regarding their PHA management oversight activities.
This amendment was withdrawn.
Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) offered
an amendment (No. 5), designated HR225_03. This
amendment would require the HUD IG to investigate and
report to Congress on the implementation of
cryptocurrency in the operations of HUD. This amendment
failed by a recorded vote of 21 yeas and 30 nays, a
quorum being present. (Record Vote No. FC-139).
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the findings and recommendations of
the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the goal of H.R. 225 is to enhance
the Committee's oversight responsibility and effectiveness by
requiring annual testimony before the Committee from the HUD
Inspector General.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 225. The
Committee has requested but not received a cost estimate from
the Director of the Congressional Budget Office. However,
pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee will adopt as its own
the cost estimate by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office once it has been prepared.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CBO COST ESTIMATE
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, a cost estimate was not made
available to the Committee in time for the filing of this
report. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause such estimate
to be printed in the Congressional Record upon its receipt by
the Committee.
UNFUNDED MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee has requested but not received from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office an estimate of the
Federal mandates pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act. The Committee will adopt the estimate once
it has been prepared by the Director.
EARMARK STATEMENT
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee has carefully reviewed
the provisions of the resolution and states that the provisions
of the bill do not contain any congressional earmarks, limited
tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits within the meaning of
the rule.
FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee states that no
provision of the bill establishes or reauthorizes a program of
the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another
Federal program, including any program that was included in a
report to Congress pursuant to section 21 of the Public Law
111-139 or the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short title
Establishes the short title of the bill as the ``HUD
Transparency Act of 2025''.
Section 2. Congressional testimony
Requires the HUD IG to testify annually prior to October 1
before the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs regarding the
IG's efforts: to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse; to
conduct and supervise audits; to identify opportunities for HUD
programs to succeed; to improve overall efficiency and public
accountability; to assess if HUD has resources sufficient to
carry out its statutory mission; and, to provide updates on the
IG's ongoing activities as appropriate.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
H.R. 225 does not repeal or amend any section of a statute.
Therefore, the Office of Legislative Counsel did not prepare
the report required under clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the House
of Representatives.
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