NAHRO Testifies in Hearing on PHA Oversight
by Gabriel Smith, Legislative Affairs Analyst and Jenna Hampton, Legislative Affairs Manager
On Wednesday, March 22, NAHRO’s General Counsel and Director of Strategic Initiatives, Georgi Banna, testified in a hearing entitled “PHA Oversight: How Scandals and Mismanagement Harm Residents and Taxpayers.” As Congress negotiates HUD funding levels for Fiscal Year 2025, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance sought to use this hearing to evaluate perceived misconduct at certain Public Housing Agencies (PHAs).
Mr. Banna’s testimony provided insight into the work PHAs are doing to house our nation’s most vulnerable populations. He also urged Congress to provide adequate funding for HUD programs, explaining in his testimony:
“PHAs effectively provide housing assistance to millions of Americans despite consistent underfunding of HUD programs….Providing adequate annual appropriations is critical to ensuring that aging public housing units remain decent and safe, leading to long-term sustainability of this essential program.”
The subcommittee’s Republican majority staff invited two former PHA leaders to shed light on their experiences with housing agencies. Bill Slover, former Chair of the DC Housing Authority Board, recommended actions he believes HUD should take to intervene quicker when there is evidence of PHA misconduct. The former Executive Director of the Atlantic City Housing Authority, Matt Doherty, spoke about his brief experience working to uncover mishandling of funding at the agency. Mr. Doherty noted later in the hearing that, “well-run housing authorities far outnumber poorly run housing authorities.”
Mr. Banna expressed to committee members that the vast majority of PHAs are doing excellent work with limited resources from Congress and agreed with several lawmakers arguing that chronic underfunding by Congress directly harms residents far more than a handful of isolated incidents.
Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, asked about the potential of private developers and local municipalities to help PHAs create new affordable units despite chronic underfunding. Mr. Banna responded, “…We need all hands on deck. More partners, more cooperation.” Another question on this topic came from Boston’s Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) on how chronic underfunding of PHAs and HUD impacts families, to which Mr. Banna pointed out that only 1 in 4 eligible families actually receive housing assistance, “…without the resources to provide and develop new units, the wait lists only grow longer. This directly affects our residents.”
NAHRO stands ready to partner with Congress in supporting PHAs to serve as stewards of public housing and other critical housing assistance programs that provide shelter for the most vulnerable in our communities.
Witness Statements
Mr. Georgi Banna, General Counsel and Director of Strategic Initiatives, NAHRO
Mr. Matt Doherty, Former Executive Director, Atlantic City Housing Authority (ACHA)