WASHINGTON, DC – As news reports indicate that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is on the verge of shuttering dozens of HUD field offices across the country, leaving most states without local sites or staff to assist housing providers and low-income households, underwrite mortgages, or address critical federal housing issues, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) who serve together on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and on the Senate Appropriations Committee, are urging the Trump Administration to change course and retain a HUD field office in every state.

Senators Reed and Rounds sent a bipartisan letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner noting that: “Preserving HUD’s footprint in every state is fundamental to responsible, effective governance.  State field offices provide vital services both to our constituents and the federal government, and we urge you to make certain that HUD retains a local field office footprint in every state.”

Congress created the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the federal government’s primary housing agency, to improve life in American communities nationwide by strengthening housing and community development and effectively addressing challenges in urban areas in all fifty states.  Staffers at HUD field offices engage in critical work supporting communities in expanding their housing supply, providing rental assistance, and preventing homelessness.  Their support helps communities solve difficult administrative challenges, efficiently utilize federal funding, and lower housing costs for families.

If the news reports are accurate, many states would be left without field offices and entire regions would be left without a HUD presence.

The senators noted the importance of field offices and the on the ground presence of their staffs: “As local partners embedded in communities across every state, HUD field offices provide one-on-one guidance to HUD-funded housing providers as they implement programs and navigate administrative challenges.  Field offices also provide individual assistance to households and help make sure HUD dollars are used as intended, delivering essential services to vulnerable Americans.  Collectively, this direct work with HUD providers and beneficiaries keeps Americans housed while providing critical oversight to HUD programs to safeguard federal dollars from waste, fraud, or abuse,” Rounds and Reed wrote.   

“State offices also provide insight into local housing conditions and local markets, particularly in small and rural states, where conditions and challenges vary significantly from those in larger metropolitan areas,” the senators continued. “Indeed, state offices are an important resource for communities and housing providers – helping them efficiently implement HUD funding as they work to address their local housing challenges.”

HUD staff within the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are responsible for underwriting mortgage insurance for hundreds of thousands of buyers across the country each year, generating billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury.  Closing these field offices could make it harder to process mortgage insurance for single-family homes, affordable apartment buildings, hospitals, and nursing facilities.

Full text of the letter follows:

March 11, 2025

The Honorable Eric Scott Turner

Secretary

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

451 7th Street, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Secretary Turner:

Congratulations on your confirmation and we appreciate the critical work that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) does to support housing stability across the country.  We write to urge you to retain a HUD field office in every state.

Recent reports indicate that HUD is considering closing nearly two-thirds of state field offices – significantly reducing HUD’s local presence across the country.  These reports follow last month’s announcement that HUD was terminating all Office of Field Policy and Management employees at the GS-13 level and below, many of whom staff field offices, as well as reports that HUD will reduce its overall workforce by half.

As local partners embedded in communities across every state, HUD field offices provide one-on-one guidance to HUD-funded housing providers as they implement programs and navigate administrative challenges.  Field offices also provide individual assistance to households and help make sure HUD dollars are used as intended, delivering essential services to vulnerable Americans.  Collectively, this direct work with HUD providers and beneficiaries keeps Americans housed while providing critical oversight to HUD programs to safeguard federal dollars from waste, fraud, or abuse.   

State offices also provide insight into local housing conditions and local markets, particularly in small and rural states, where conditions and challenges vary significantly from those in larger metropolitan areas.  Indeed, state offices are an important resource for communities and housing providers – helping them efficiently implement HUD funding as they work to address their local housing challenges.

Preserving HUD’s footprint in every state is fundamental to responsible, effective governance.  State field offices provide vital services both to our constituents and the federal government, and we urge you to make certain that HUD retains a local field office footprint in every state.

Sincerely,