HUD WINS PRESTIGIOUS EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Income Verification System helped reduce fraud and save taxpayers nearly $400 million annually

WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is the recipient of the prestigious 2008 Excellence.Gov Award from the American Council for Technology (ACT) for the Department's innovative Enterprise Income Verification System (EIV). HUD's EIV system is designed to reduce improper rental assistance payments and was selected as one of just five top e-government programs from among 20 finalists at 13 government agencies.

"This award recognizes the hard work and creativeness our team put into making sure taxpayers' money is well spent," said HUD's Deputy Secretary Roy A. Bernardi. "This system not only saves money but it allows us to provide housing assistance to more families who truly need it."

"We've seen a 70 percent decline in improper subsidy payments since we've implemented this system," said Paula Blunt, HUD's General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. "It's a good feeling to know that you can save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year while offering housing assistance to a greater number of deserving families."

Last Year, HUD's Nicole Faison earned the Partnership for Public Service's distinguished Service to America Medal for developing this Income Enterprise Verification system and "making a significant contribution to improve the way Americaworks." HUD's EIV system is credited with significantly reducing fraud in the Department's rental assistance programs and removing HUD from the Government Accounting Office's high-risk list.

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