View or download a PDF of the letter here.
The Honorable Charles Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
February 04, 2022
Dear Leader Schumer:
The 46 undersigned national organizations write to encourage the Senate to swiftly discharge and confirm the four highly qualified nominees for positions at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The nation faces significant housing challenges including evictions, inflation in the rental market, and the ongoing effects of discrimination; and any further delay in staffing top HUD positions will deeply impact the lives of many renters and homeowners in the U.S.
The nominees are:
• Julia Gordon for Assistant Secretary of the Federal Housing Administration;
• Solomon Greene for Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research;
• Arthur Jemison for Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing; and
• David Uejio for Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
These nominees are career housing professionals and would have easily received bipartisan support for their nominations in a less partisan era. The positions they will occupy will determine HUD policy including mortgage lending, public housing, fair housing issues, and policy and research.
Additionally, the last administration enacted several harmful fair housing policies that need to be repealed or revised to reflect the current administration’s stance. These nominees will oversee divisions responsible for these repeals as well as for significant regulatory actions that are needed to protect the health and substantive rights of tenants and homeowners and preserve the nation’s affordable housing stock. Expert leadership is a crucial component of enacting the regulatory changes that are so necessary.
HUD’s mission has never been as important as it is right now. The country needs a fully functioning housing agency to guide the federal response to our housing crisis and to respond to the economic impacts of the ongoing pandemic. Advancing all four of these for nominees is vital to improve the housing opportunities for all Americans.