The program, which HUD deregulated several years ago, has permitted, for
example, the taxpayer-financed construction of a 5,300-square-foot house
for a couple whose income tops $90,000.
There's little doubt of the need for the program -- thousands of Indians
on reservations live in conditions as bad as the worst in Appalachia. But
changes in HUD rules have loosened accountability. The series, by Eric
Nalder <enal-new@seatimes.com>, Deborah Nelson <dnel-new@seatimes.com> and
Alex Tizon <atiz-new@seatimes.com>, documents examples from around the
country of money being siphoned off to make comfortable people more
comfortable instead of helping the needy.
In a fairly unusual admission, HUD last week released a letter
acknowledging some of the Times' findings, and HUD Secretary Cisneros
ordered an investigation -- all before any of the stories even ran!
"The picture you are painting is one, frankly, of us being asleep at the
switch nationwide,'' said HUD's second-in-command of public housing
programs. "I don't deny you have found problems and issues."
There's a lot of good reading, and maybe some threads from other
states that other reporters want to pick up on.
The series began Sunday, and runs through Thursday of this week. To
find it, point your browser to:
http://www.seattletimes.com/topstories/browse/html/trib_120196.html
Ivan Weiss
Seattle Times
iwei-new@seatimes.com
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