Overview of A Report on the Transformation of HUD
by Secretary Cisneros

More Power To Communities
We are changing the way HUD works to put communities -- not Washington -- first, so that all federal resources will help build safe, strong and hopeful communities from the ground up, with local priorities and needs leading the way, by...

  • eliminating dozens of duplicative and unnecessary programs
  • funding only what works
  • wiping out bureaucratic rules and instead rewarding the best local performance
  • moving staff out of DC and onto the front-lines of communities
  • planting the seeds to grow private sector jobs and business in distressed communities
Transformation of All Federal Affordable Housing
We are dramatically reinventing all federally assisted housing to ensure decent, affordable housing for all who need it and to make certain that it is a temporary step on the road to economic self- sufficiency, by...

  • blowing up the worst public housing and replacing it with livable apartments
  • changing the incentives so people are encouraged to work instead of living off welfare
  • cracking down hard on gangs and drug dealers
  • evicting irresponsible tenants, suing corrupt owners and seizing mismanaged PHAs
Homeownership Opportunities for All Americans
We are pursuing a sustained, national effort to ensure the opportunity of homeownership for all Americans who want it, by...

  • setting a goal of reaching the highest homeownership rate in U.S. history
  • bringing down barriers to homeownership by lowering downpayments and closing costs
  • shortening the time it takes to serve our customers
  • pushing the private sector to help make homeownership more affordable
  • protecting every American against rental and ownership discrimination
A Community First, Right-Side Up Cabinet Department
We are proposing to transform HUD into a cabinet department that literally inverts the organizational chart by:

  • moving staff out of Washington and into communities
  • establishing local HUD Service Centers to stay in touch with communities
  • retraining HUD personnel to meet 21st century community challenges
  • using technology to create a virtual, paperless HUD

 
 
Content Archived: January 20, 2009