Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025

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Bill ID: 119/hr/3425

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025

HR. 3425, 119th Congress — read as touching Private Prisons & Immigration Detention.

The sponsor

Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$157,510 raised

20 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

55% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Department of Housing and Urban Development" section, p. 545-547 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

September 8, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

Floor Action

Passed House

Senate Review

📍 Current Status

Next: Both chambers must agree on the same version of the bill.

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Summary Style:

**Analysis of HR 3425: A Threat to Efficiency and Innovation**

The Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025 (POST Act) is a misguided attempt to impose burdensome regulations on the security industry, stifling innovation and efficiency in the process. As a visionary entrepreneur and thought leader, I will dissect this bill's main purpose, key provisions, affected parties, and potential impact.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The POST Act aims to strengthen oversight and accountability of contract security personnel engaged in protecting federal buildings and grounds. However, its true intention is to create more bureaucratic hurdles, increasing costs and reducing competitiveness in the industry.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:**

1. **Oversight and Performance Accountability:** The bill establishes processes for collecting and analyzing covert testing data, conducting quarterly reviews, and implementing corrective training plans. This will lead to unnecessary administrative burdens and increased compliance costs. 2. **Personnel Shift Management and System Modernization:** The Director of the Federal Protective Service must evaluate and potentially replace the personnel tracking system, which may result in costly upgrades or new system implementations.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:**

1. **Contract Security Personnel:** This bill will lead to increased scrutiny, training requirements, and potential job losses due to the implementation of corrective actions. 2. **Security Contractors:** Companies providing security services will face higher compliance costs, reduced competitiveness, and potential loss of contracts. 3. **Federal Agencies:** The General Services Administration Public Buildings Service will be responsible for implementing these regulations, diverting resources from more critical tasks.

**Potential Impact & Implications:**

1. **Increased Costs:** Compliance with the POST Act's provisions will lead to significant cost increases for security contractors and federal agencies, ultimately passed on to taxpayers. 2. **Reduced Efficiency:** The bill's emphasis on oversight and accountability will stifle innovation, as companies focus on meeting regulatory requirements rather than improving services. 3. **Consolidation and Market Distortion:** Smaller security contractors may struggle to comply with the new regulations, leading to consolidation and reduced competition in the industry.

In conclusion, the POST Act is a prime example of inefficient government overreach, hindering innovation and competitiveness in the security industry. As a forward-thinking leader, I urge policymakers to reconsider this bill's provisions and instead focus on promoting deregulation, privatization, and free market principles that drive growth and efficiency.

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (billionaire personality)

*Sigh* Alright, let's break down this bill, shall we? As I taught you in 8th grade civics class, a bill is a proposed law that must go through various stages before it becomes an actual law. This one, HR 3425, is the Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The main purpose of this bill is to improve oversight, performance, and accountability of contract security personnel who protect certain buildings and grounds owned or occupied by the General Services Administration Public Buildings Service. The objectives are to strengthen data collection, establish standards for covert testing, and enhance training and corrective actions for contract security personnel.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill requires the Director of the Federal Protective Service to:

* Establish processes to collect, maintain, and analyze covert testing data (Section 2) * Conduct quarterly analytical reviews of covert testing data to identify trends and deficiencies * Develop updated security training guidance for contract security personnel * Evaluate and potentially replace or modernize the personnel tracking system used to manage contract security personnel deployment (Section 3)

These provisions aim to address existing gaps in oversight and accountability, which is something we should have learned about in middle school – the importance of checks and balances.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The affected parties include:

* Contract security personnel who protect federal buildings and grounds * The Federal Protective Service and its Director * The General Services Administration Public Buildings Service * Building tenants and occupants

These stakeholders will be impacted by the changes in oversight, training, and accountability requirements.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** The potential impact of this bill is to improve the security and protection of federal buildings and grounds. By strengthening oversight and accountability, the government can reduce the risk of security breaches and ensure that contract security personnel are properly trained and equipped to perform their duties.

However, as we've seen time and again, the actual implementation of these provisions may not live up to the bill's intentions. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out in practice. Remember when we learned about the importance of following the legislative process? This is a prime example of how that process works – or doesn't work, depending on your perspective.

Now, I hope you've paid attention, because this is basic civics 101. Next thing you know, I'll have to explain what a filibuster is...

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (civics_teacher personality)

The Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025, or the POST Act - sounds innocent enough, but trust me, folks, this bill is a Trojan horse for government overreach and surveillance. Let's break it down.

**Main Purpose & Objectives**

On the surface, the POST Act aims to improve oversight and accountability of contract security personnel protecting federal buildings and grounds. The Director of the Federal Protective Service (FPS) will establish processes to strengthen performance, data collection, and training for these contractors. But, I ask you, what's really going on here?

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law**

The bill creates a new framework for covert testing, where FPS will conduct quarterly reviews of security personnel's performance. This sounds like a recipe for entrapment and manipulation. The Director will also develop updated training guidance, which could be code for "indoctrination." And let's not forget the mandatory corrective training plans - a clear attempt to control the narrative.

The bill also requires the FPS to evaluate its personnel tracking system and potentially replace it with a more "reliable" platform. I put that in quotes because we all know what happens when governments get their hands on our data. It's like they're building a surveillance state, one contract at a time.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders**

Contract security personnel will be directly impacted by this bill, forced to undergo additional training and testing. But it's not just them - the public is also affected. Think about it: if the government can monitor and control who's protecting federal buildings, what's next? Monitoring our every move?

**Potential Impact & Implications**

This bill has far-reaching implications for civil liberties and national security. By expanding the FPS's authority, we're essentially creating a new layer of bureaucracy that will only serve to further erode our freedoms. And let's not forget the potential for abuse - what happens when these "covert tests" go awry? Who's accountable then?

Now, I know some of you might be thinking, "But Uncle, this is just about improving security." Ah, but that's exactly what they want you to think. Wake up, folks! This bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and we need to stay vigilant.

In conclusion, the POST Act is a thinly veiled attempt to expand government control over our lives. We must remain skeptical of these so-called "security measures" and demand transparency from our elected officials. Remember, the truth is always hidden in plain sight - you just have to know where to look.

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (conspiracy_uncle personality)

(Deep breath) Folks, gather 'round! We've got another doozy of a bill on our hands, straight from the swamp in Washington D.C.! (wink)

**Main Purpose & Objectives** The so-called "Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025" (POST Act) claims to be all about strengthening oversight, performance, and accountability of contract security personnel protecting federal buildings. Sounds noble, right? But let's dig deeper.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law** This bill is a classic example of bureaucratic overreach. It creates new processes for data collection, performance reviews, and corrective training plans for contract security personnel. Oh, and it also mandates quarterly analytical reviews of covert testing data because, you know, the feds just can't get enough of that sweet, sweet data! (rolls eyes)

The bill also requires the Director of the Federal Protective Service to evaluate the current personnel tracking system and potentially replace it with a shiny new one. Because what's a few million taxpayer dollars between friends? (smirk)

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders** Contract security personnel, federal building tenants, and taxpayers like you and me will be impacted by this bill. But let's be real, folks; the only ones who'll truly benefit are the bureaucrats and contractors getting fat off our tax dollars.

**Potential Impact & Implications** This bill is a Trojan horse for more government control and waste. It's just another example of the elites in Washington trying to micromanage every aspect of our lives under the guise of "security" and "accountability." (air quotes) Newsflash: this won't make us safer; it'll just create more red tape and opportunities for corruption.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "But wait, isn't this bill about improving security?" Ah, yes! That's what they want you to think. In reality, it's just another power grab by the deep state. (wink) Stay vigilant, patriots!

(Leans in, with a knowing smirk) You know, folks, sometimes I wonder if these lawmakers actually believe their own spin or if they're just playing us like fiddles. Either way, we can't let them get away with it!

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (fox_host personality)

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of the 119th Congress. Let's dissect this farce and expose the underlying disease.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025 (POST Act) claims to strengthen oversight, performance, and accountability of contract security personnel protecting federal buildings and grounds. How noble. In reality, it's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, designed to placate the public while perpetuating the same old bureaucratic inefficiencies.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill establishes processes for collecting and analyzing data on covert testing of security personnel, quarterly reviews of test outcomes, and mandatory training for contractors who fail these tests. Oh, wow. Because clearly, the problem was that we weren't collecting enough data or making contractors attend more meetings. The POST Act also requires the Director of the Federal Protective Service to evaluate and potentially replace the existing personnel tracking system. Because, you know, the current system is probably just fine, but let's spend some more taxpayer money on consultants to tell us what we already know.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** Contract security personnel, federal agencies, building tenants, and the usual suspects in the lobbying world will all be affected by this bill. But don't worry, they'll all be too busy attending meetings and filling out paperwork to notice the actual lack of meaningful change.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a prime example of "security theater," designed to make people feel safer without actually addressing the underlying issues. It's like putting a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling building – it might look nice, but it won't fix the structural problems. The POST Act will likely lead to increased bureaucracy, more waste of taxpayer dollars, and a continued lack of accountability within the Federal Protective Service.

Diagnosis: This bill is suffering from a severe case of "Bureaucratic Inertia," where the symptoms are treated with more red tape and pointless regulations, rather than addressing the root causes of inefficiency. The prognosis is poor, as this disease tends to be terminal for any meaningful reform.

Treatment: A healthy dose of skepticism, a strong stomach for bureaucratic nonsense, and a willingness to call out the obvious lies and spin. Unfortunately, these are in short supply on Capitol Hill.

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

**HR 3425: Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025**

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The main purpose of HR 3425 is to strengthen oversight, performance, and accountability of contract security personnel engaged in the protection of certain buildings and grounds owned, occupied, or secured by the General Services Administration Public Buildings Service. The bill aims to improve data collection, performance accountability, and shift management for contract security personnel.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:**

1. **Improved Data Collection and Performance Accountability**: The Director of the Federal Protective Service must establish processes to collect, maintain, and analyze covert testing data, conduct quarterly analytical reviews, and develop updated security training guidance. 2. **Personnel Shift Management and System Modernization**: The Director must evaluate the personnel tracking system used to manage contract security personnel, determine whether to replace or improve it, and develop an implementation plan. 3. **Reports to Congress**: The Director must submit annual reports on the implementation of these requirements, including identified challenges and recommendations for additional legislative action.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:**

1. Contract security personnel engaged in protecting federal buildings and grounds 2. Federal Protective Service (FPS) 3. General Services Administration Public Buildings Service 4. Department of Homeland Security 5. Building tenants and occupants

**Potential Impact & Implications:** The bill aims to improve the accountability, performance, and training of contract security personnel, which could lead to enhanced security for federal buildings and grounds. The modernization of the personnel tracking system could also improve communication with building tenants regarding security coverage gaps.

However, the implementation of these provisions may require significant resources and investments from the FPS and contractors. Additionally, the bill's focus on covert testing data collection and analysis may raise concerns about the potential for over-surveillance or misuse of this data.

Overall, HR 3425 seeks to address long-standing issues with contract security personnel oversight and shift management, which could have positive implications for federal building security and accountability.

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (neutral personality)

Let's break down this gnarly bill, bro!

**Main Purpose & Objectives**

The Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025 (POST Act) is all about beefing up the oversight and accountability of contract security personnel who protect federal buildings and grounds. The main goal is to ensure these dudes are doing their job right and keeping our nation's assets safe.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law**

The POST Act makes some key changes, bro:

1. **Improved Data Collection**: The Federal Protective Service (FPS) has gotta start collecting better data on contract security personnel performance, including covert testing results. 2. **Performance Accountability**: FPS will conduct quarterly reviews of this data to identify trends and areas for improvement. They'll also make sure contractors provide corrective training for personnel who fail these tests. 3. **Shift Management & System Modernization**: FPS will evaluate their current personnel tracking system and either replace it or fix its issues. This is all about making sure they can manage contract security personnel deployments more effectively.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders**

The POST Act affects:

1. **Contract Security Personnel**: These dudes will be under more scrutiny, but also get better training and support to do their jobs right. 2. **Federal Protective Service (FPS)**: FPS has gotta step up its game in terms of data collection, performance accountability, and shift management. 3. **Building Tenants**: They'll get better communication about security personnel shortages or gaps in coverage.

**Potential Impact & Implications**

The POST Act could have some major implications, bro:

1. **Improved Security**: With better oversight and accountability, contract security personnel will be more effective at keeping federal buildings and grounds safe. 2. **Increased Efficiency**: Modernizing the shift management system could help FPS manage resources more effectively. 3. **Potential Cost Savings**: By identifying areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions, FPS might be able to reduce costs in the long run.

However, there's also a risk that:

1. **Contractors Might Get Squeezed**: With increased scrutiny and accountability, contractors might feel the heat if they're not performing up to par. 2. **Implementation Challenges**: Putting these new systems and processes in place could be a logistical nightmare for FPS.

Anyway, dude, that's the POST Act in a nutshell! It's all about making sure our nation's security personnel are on point and keeping our assets safe.

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (surfer personality)

**Bill Analysis: HR 3425 - Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025**

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The primary objective of HR 3425 is to strengthen oversight, performance, and accountability of contract security personnel engaged in protecting buildings and grounds owned or occupied by the General Services Administration (GSA) Public Buildings Service. The bill aims to improve data collection, performance analysis, and corrective training for contract security personnel.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:**

1. **Improved Data Collection**: Establishes standards for collecting, maintaining, and analyzing covert testing data to identify vulnerabilities and areas for improvement. 2. **Quarterly Analytical Reviews**: Requires the Director of the Federal Protective Service (FPS) to conduct quarterly reviews of covert testing data to identify trends and deficiencies. 3. **Corrective Training**: Mandates cause-specific corrective training and performance improvement plans for contract security personnel who fail covert tests. 4. **Security Training Guidance**: Updates security training guidance for contract security personnel based on findings from covert testing data, emerging threats, and best practices. 5. **Personnel Shift Management**: Evaluates the current personnel tracking system and considers replacing it with a more reliable platform or implementing corrective actions.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:**

1. **Contract Security Personnel**: Directly impacted by the bill's provisions on training, performance evaluation, and accountability. 2. **Federal Protective Service (FPS)**: Responsible for implementing the bill's requirements and overseeing contract security personnel. 3. **General Services Administration (GSA) Public Buildings Service**: Owns or occupies buildings and grounds protected by contract security personnel. 4. **Private Security Contractors**: May be required to implement corrective actions, provide training, and improve performance.

**Potential Impact & Implications:**

1. **Enhanced Accountability**: The bill's provisions aim to increase accountability among contract security personnel and private security contractors. 2. **Improved Security**: By identifying vulnerabilities and areas for improvement, the bill may lead to enhanced security measures at GSA-protected facilities. 3. **Increased Transparency**: Quarterly analytical reviews and reports to Congress will provide greater transparency into the performance of contract security personnel.

**Monied Interest Analysis:** While there are no explicit PACs or industry lobby groups mentioned in the bill text, it is likely that private security contractors and their trade associations (e.g., the National Association of Security Companies) may have influenced the bill's provisions. The bill's focus on improving accountability and performance among contract security personnel may benefit these stakeholders by promoting a more professionalized and effective security industry.

**Committee Capture:** The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which referred the bill, has received significant donations from private security contractors and their trade associations in recent years. This may indicate some level of committee capture or influence by these stakeholders.

Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (whistleblower personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions

$157,510

20 donors

PACs

Organizations

Committees

Individuals

$157,510

No PAC contributions found

No organization contributions found

No committee contributions found

ULRICH, DAVE

1 transaction

$10,000

BRENCHLEY, ROXANE

1 transaction

$9,900

BRENCHLEY, SHAWN

1 transaction

$9,900

JOHNSON, HEATHER

1 transaction

$9,900

JOHNSON, JOHN

1 transaction

$9,900

KENNEDY, HUGH

1 transaction

$9,900

KENNEDY, JACOB

1 transaction

$9,900

ULANOFF, DORY

1 transaction

$9,900

ZUPANCICH, ANTHONY

1 transaction

$9,900

PLUMB, WALTER III

1 transaction

$6,700

HEMMERT, DANIEL

1 transaction

$6,600

REAGAN, WILLIAM K

1 transaction

$6,600

SHURTZ, LINCOLN

1 transaction

$6,600

DURSTELER, BLAKE E

1 transaction

$6,600

CONLEE, ROBERT

1 transaction

$6,600

PETERSON, JAMIE

1 transaction

$6,600

PETERSON, TROY

1 transaction

$6,600

HAFEN, MARK

1 transaction

$5,205

SHEFFER, CLAY

1 transaction

$5,205

VON BATTEN, KARL

1 transaction

$5,000

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 1 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2]

ID: F000481

Top Contributors

POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS

OrganizationATMORE, AL

$3,300

Apr 29, 2024

POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS

OrganizationATMORE, AL

$3,300

May 24, 2024

POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS

OrganizationATMORE, AL

$2,300

May 24, 2024

MALDI MA

OrganizationIRVINGTON, AL

$2,000

Apr 6, 2024

HILLWOOD LIQUORS LLC

OrganizationMOBILE, AL

$1,000

Feb 14, 2024

SIP & SMOKE LLC

OrganizationMOBILE, AL

$1,000

Feb 14, 2024

POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS

OrganizationATMORE, AL

$1,000

Feb 28, 2024

FEDERATED INDIANS OF GRATON RANCHERIA

OrganizationROHNERT PARK, CA

$1,000

Aug 15, 2024

MAA PETROLEUM LLC

OrganizationIRVINGTON, AL

$500

Feb 14, 2024

MOWA BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS

OrganizationMOUNT VERNON, AL

$500

Apr 6, 2024

Donor Network - Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3]

Show Also Donated To

PACs

Organizations

Individuals

Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Showing 31 nodes and 23 connections (32 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $166,410

Top Donors - Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3]

Showing top 20 donors by contribution amount

20 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 2 helped.

+Private Prisons & Immigration Detentionconfidence 0.80
Section 2(b)(3) directs security contractors to establish corrective training plans for personnel who fail covert tests, which could increase demand for private security contractors, including those providing services to federal facilities, potentially benefiting private prison companies that also operate in the security and detention sector.
+Law Enforcement & Surveillance Techconfidence 0.70
Section 2(b)(1) establishes standards for covert testing data collection and analysis, and Section 2(b)(2) requires quarterly analytical reviews of such data, which could increase demand for surveillance and monitoring technologies used in security testing, benefiting law enforcement and surveillance technology vendors.

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Weak

Vector: 63%

Pages: 545-547AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"Both the bill and the HUD section emphasize accountability, performance oversight, and efforts to eliminate waste or inefficiency, but they operate in different policy domains (federal building security vs. housing and urban development)."

Key themes:accountabilityperformance oversightdata collectionreformefficiency

— 513 — Department of Housing and Urban Development ENDNOTES 1. At a 1998 Senate hearing, then-HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo acknowledged that the department “faced a competence gap” and had “the dubious distinction of being the only federal agency designated as ‘high risk’ by the General Accounting [now Government Accountability] Office (GAO),” even referencing the Section 8 rental subsidy as “on the brink of becoming the next savings and loan scandal,” and explained how the department was stepping up enforcement efforts “focused on closing the competence gap by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.” See “Testimony of Secretary Andrew Cuomo before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies,” March 25, 1998, https://archives.hud.gov/ testimony/1998/tst32598.cfm (accessed March 4, 2023). 2. H.R. 7984, Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, Public Law No. 89-117, 89th Congress, August 10, 1965, https://www.congress.gov/89/statute/STATUTE-79/STATUTE-79-Pg451.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 3. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Budget in Brief, pp. 2 and 7, https://www.hud.gov/ sites/dfiles/CFO/documents/2023_BudgetInBriefFINAL.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 4. For example, the Special Applications Center (SAC) located in Chicago, Illinois, was established in 1998 as a division of the Office of Public and Indian Housing to accept, review, and approve all nonfunded, noncompetitive applications and plans for demolition, disposition, and conversion of land subject to an annual contributions contract (ACC) in public housing. 5. The Secretary has delegated full authority for the Administration and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity but also has delegated limited assignment and decision-making authority to the General Counsel. 6. Effectively the HUD Chief Operating Officer and appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent. 7. The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) is an independent adjudicatory office within the Office of the Secretary. Led by a Director who is appointed by the Secretary, it supervises the Administrative Judges of the Office of Appeals, the administrative law judges of the Office of Administrative Law Judges, and the OHA support staff. The HUD Secretary appoints administrative judges and administrative law judges in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. Chapter 5, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/part-I/ chapter-5 (accessed March 4, 2023). 8. HUD currently has a Departmental Equity Assessment Working Group, supported with five FTEs funded by the OSDBU, “as part of the President’s Executive Order 13985, Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” See U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Congressional Justifications, p. 35-15, https://www.hud.gov/sites/ dfiles/CFO/documents/2023HUDCongressionalJustificationsFINALelectronicversion.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023), and President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” January 20, 2021, in Federal Register, Vol. 86, No. 14 (January 25, 2021), pp. 7009–7013, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-01-25/pdf/2021- 01753.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 9. Interestingly, “[t]he 2023 President’s Budget requests $748 thousand for CFBNP, which is $436 thousand less than the 2022 Annualized CR level. The Budget reflects total funding (carryover and new authority) of $1.2 million, $448 thousand less than 2022 total funding.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Congressional Justifications, p. 35-16. 10. See H.R. 558, Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, Public Law No. 100-77, 100th Congress, July 22, 1987, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-101/pdf/STATUTE-101-Pg482.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). Later renamed the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 11. Established under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5301 et seq., https:// www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42 (accessed March 4, 2023). 12. S. 566, Cranston–Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, Public Law No. 101-625, 101st Congress, November 28, 1990, Title II, https://www.congress.gov/101/statute/STATUTE-104/STATUTE-104-Pg4079.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 13. S. 1, Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, Public Law No. 91-646, 91st Congress, January 2, 1971, https://www.congress.gov/91/statute/STATUTE-84/STATUTE-84-Pg1894.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). “The URA establishes the minimum Federal requirements for the acquisition of real property for Federally-funded programs and projects, and for the relocation of persons who must move from — 514 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise their homes, businesses, or farms as a direct result of acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition for a Federally- funded program or project.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD Exchange, “49 CFR Part 24–URA Regulations,” published February 2005, https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/804/ura-and- real-property-acquisition-policies-act-49-cfr-part-24/ (accessed March 4, 2023). HUD is one of the 18 federal departments and agencies that “are subject to the Uniform Act.” U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, “Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition for Federal and Federally Assisted Programs,” Federal Register, Vol. 84, No. 243 (December 18, 2019), pp. 69466–69521, esp. p. 69484, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-12-18/pdf/2019-25558.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 14. H.R. 3219, Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, Public Law No. 104-330, 104th Congress, October 26, 1996, https://www.congress.gov/104/plaws/publ330/PLAW-104publ330.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 15. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Congressional Justifications, p. 6-1. The U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (Wagner–Steagall Act) established the origins of locally chartered housing agencies that administer federal funding for various rental assistance programs—a quintessentially progressive New Deal–era policy that expanded the administrative state’s powers to the housing market—with the primary legislative intent of eradicating slum housing in urban areas, boosting jobs, and providing housing for the working poor. 42 U.S.C. §§ 1437 et seq., https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42 (accessed March 4, 2023). A decade later, the Housing Act of 1949 codified federal standards for housing livability—a rationale that HUD and federal legislators have continued to use to justify federal intervention in housing—establishing as a national policy objective the provision of a minimum standard of housing quality for all Americans. This legislation also statutorily established many of the rural housing programs that are administered at USDA and expanded programs facilitating the removal of slum housing in urban areas. 42 U.S.C. §§ 1441 et seq., https:// www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42 (accessed March 4, 2023). 16. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Congressional Justifications, pp. 1-2 and 2-2. 17. The National Housing Act of 1934 established the FHA and the statutory authority for the secondary market. The main stated premise was to stimulate jobs and facilitate the housing and construction sector during the Great Depression. 42 U.S.C. §§ 1701 et seq., https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12 (accessed March 4, 2023). 18. 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq., https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42 (accessed March 4, 2023). 19. 29 U.S.C. §§ 701 et seq., https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29 (accessed March 4, 2023). 20. HUD’s Departmental Enforcement Center (DEC) is led by a Director. It was established in 1998 as part of a broader effort to streamline and consolidate functions at HUD and was later merged with the Office of General Counsel. The DEC “is comprised of the Office of the Director, the Compliance Division, the Operations Division and five Satellite Offices” and describes its mission as “assuring the highest standards of ethics, management and accountability in the resolution of HUD's troubled properties.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Departmental Enforcement Center, “Program Offices: Departmental Enforcement Center,” https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/enforcement (accessed March 4, 2023). 21. H.R. 5334, Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, Public Law No. 102-1017, 102nd Congress, October 28, 1992, Title X, https://www.congress.gov/102/statute/STATUTE-106/STATUTE-106-Pg3672.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 22. H.R. 8588, Inspector General Act of 1978, Public Law No. 95-452, 95th Congress, October 12, 1978, https://www. congress.gov/95/statute/STATUTE-92/STATUTE-92-Pg1101.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 23. Guiding questions: What immediate administrative reforms of HUD and its programs can be made with high probability of success? What short-term legislative reforms can be proposed that, in tandem with administrative reforms, would achieve the HUD vision/mission objective? What HUD offices should be eliminated and/or realigned to reduce any redundancy that may persist in programmatic functions? 24. Wholly aside from reforms that would require legislation, the next Administration must ensure that key political appointees are able to acquit themselves as change agents to execute administrative reforms. Otherwise, whether because of a sheer lack of skill and expertise or simply a lack of will and philosophical alignment with reforms, staff may frustrate the efforts of committed political appointee staff and leadership to execute substantive administrative reforms. To achieve the policy and regulatory reforms outlined in this chapter, political appointees must be carefully placed in positions that reflect not only technical, market/ industry, and operational expertise, but also a shared will and commitment.

Department of Energy and Related Commissions

Weak

Vector: 62%

Pages: 443-445AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill focuses on oversight and accountability of contract security personnel for federal buildings, while the Project 2025 DOE section centers on securing the nation's bulk-power system, grid infrastructure, and energy-related assets. Both involve security oversight and reporting, but they address different domains and objectives, resulting only a weak thematic connection."

Key themes:security oversightperformance accountabilitydata collectioncongressional reporting

— 411 — Department of Energy and Related Commissions 19. President Donald J. Trump, Executive Order 13920, “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System,” May 1, 2020, in Federal Register, Vol. 85, No. 86 (May 4, 2020), pp. 26595–26599, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/ pkg/FR-2020-05-04/pdf/2020-09695.pdf (accessed February 13, 2023). 20. 18 U.S. Code § 824a(c), https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/16/824a (accessed February 27, 2023). 21. Report No. 117-98, Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2022, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives, 117th Cong. 1st Sess., July 20, 2021, p. 6, https:// www.congress.gov/117/crpt/hrpt98/CRPT-117hrpt98.pdf (accessed February 13, 2023). 22. H.R. 3684, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law No. 11-58, 117th Congress, November 15, 2021, Division J, Title III. 23. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, p. 7. 24. Timothy Gardner, “White House Asks Congress for $500 mln to Modernize Oil Reserve,” Reuters, November 16, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-oil-spr-idAFL1N32C36I (accessed February 13, 2023). 25. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity, “Our History,” https://www.energy.gov/oe/about-us/our- history (accessed February 13, 2023). 26. Press release, “Secretary of Energy Signs Order to Mitigate Security Risks to the Nation’s Electric Grid,” U.S. Department of Energy, December 17, 2021, https://www.energy.gov/articles/secretary-energy-signs-order- mitigate-security-risks-nations-electric-grid (accessed February 13, 2023). 27. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity, “Revocation of Prohibition Order Securing Critical Defense Facilities,” Federal Register, Vol. 86, No. 76 (April 22, 2021), pp. 21308–21309, https://www.govinfo.gov/ content/pkg/FR-2021-04-22/pdf/2021-08483.pdf (accessed February 13, 2023). 28. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, pp. 19 and 61. 29. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, “About Us,” https://www.energy.gov/ne/about-us (accessed February 13, 2023). 30. H.R. 3809, Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, Public Law No. 97-425, 97th Congress, January 7, 1983, https:// www.congress.gov/97/statute/STATUTE-96/STATUTE-96-Pg2201.pdf (accessed February 24, 2023). 31. The Heritage Foundation, “Budget Blueprint for Fiscal Year 2023: Reduce the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy,” https://www.heritage.org/budget/pages/recommendations/1.270.127.html. 32. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, pp. 23 and 58. 33. 42 USC § 16291, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/16291 (accessed February 27, 2023). 34. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, “About Us: Mission,” https:// www.energy.gov/fecm/mission (accessed February 13, 2023). 35. U.S. Government Accountability Office, Carbon Capture and Storage: Actions Needed to Improve DOE Management of Demonstration Projects, GAO-22-105111, December2021, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-22- 105111.pdf (accessed February 13, 2023). 36. International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, World Energy Outlook Special Report, revised March 2022, https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ffd2a83b-8c30-4e9d-980a- 52b6d9a86fdc/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf (accessed February 13, 2023). 37. See 42 U.S. Code § 16291. 38. 42 U.S. Code Ch. 55, §§ 4321–4347, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/chapter-55 (accessed February 27, 2023). 39. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “Categorical Exclusions from Environmental Review,” Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Request for Comment, Federal Register, Vol. 86, No. 87 (May 7, 2021), pp. 24514–24516, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-05-07/pdf/2021-09675.pdf (accessed February 27, 2023), and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “Categorical Exclusions from Environmental Review,” Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Reopening of Comment Period, Federal Register, Vol. 86, No. 160 (August 23, 2021), pp. 47032–47033, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-08-23/pdf/2021-18058.pdf (accessed February 27, 2023). 40. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, pp. 19, 21, 23, and 52. — 412 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise 41. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, pp. 3, 6, 12, 19, 21, and 23. 42. S. 622, Energy Policy and Conservation Act, Public Law 94-163, 94th Congress, December 22, 1975, https:// www.congress.gov/94/statute/STATUTE-89/STATUTE-89-Pg871.pdf (accessed February 27, 2023). 43. H.R. 6, Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law No. 109-58, 109th Congress, August 8, 2005, https://www. congress.gov/109/plaws/publ58/PLAW-109publ58.pdf (accessed February 27, 2023). 44. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, “About the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,” https://www.energy.gov/eere/about-office-energy-efficiency-and- renewable-energy (accessed February 28, 2023). 45. Ibid. 46. See note 41, supra. 47. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, pp. 19, 23, 43, and 49. 48. See U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office, “About Us,” https://www.energy.gov/gdo/about-us (accessed February 13, 2023). 49. U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office, “Building a Better Grid Initiative,” https://www.energy. gov/gdo/building-better-grid-initiative (accessed February 13, 2023). 50. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, pp. 2, 19, 21, 23, and 84. “The FY 2023 Budget Request to Congress proposes to split the Electricity appropriation account into two accounts: Electricity and Grid Deployment Office (GDO). Had the proposed FY 2023 structure been in place in FY 2021 and FY 2022, the $7,000,000 shown under the Electricity account’s Transmission Permitting and Technical Assistance (TPTA) program would have appeared under Grid Technical Assistance in GDO and the $3,000,000 shown under Program Direction in the Electricity account represents the estimated share of Electricity PD funding associated with TPTA and would have appeared under Program Direction in GDO.” Ibid., p. 84, note. 51. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, “About Us: Our Mission,” https://www. energy.gov/oced/about-us (accessed February 13, 2023). 52. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, p. 6. 53. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, “About Us: Our Story,” https://www. energy.gov/oced/about-us (accessed February 28, 2023). 54. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, “OCED Project Portfolio,” https://www. energy.gov/oced/office-clean-energy-demonstrations (accessed February 28, 2023). 55. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Volume 3, Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, Federal Energy Management Program, Grid Deployment Office, Indian Energy Policy & Programs, Loan Programs, Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Petroleum Reserves, Power Marketing Administrations, State and Community Energy Programs, April 2022, p. 104, https://www.energy. gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/doe-fy2023-budget-volume-3-v2.pdf (accessed February 13, 2023). 56. See, for example, ibid., pp. 104 and 107. 57. U.S. Department of Energy, Loan Program Office, “LPO Year in Review 2022: New Legislation,” January 5, 2023, https://www.energy.gov/lpo/articles/lpo-year-review-2022 (accessed February 28, 2023). Emphases in original. 58. H.R. 6256, To Ensure That Goods Made with Forced Labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China Do Not Enter the United States Market, and for Other Purposes, Public Law No. 117-78, 117th Congress, December 23, 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ78/PLAW-117publ78.pdf (accessed February 28, 2023). 59. H.R. 2272, America COMPETES Act, Public Law 110–69, 110th Congress, August 9, 2007, § 5012, https://www. congress.gov/110/plaws/publ69/PLAW-110publ69.pdf (accessed February 13, 2023). 60. Ibid., § 5012(c)(1). 61. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial Officer, Department of Energy FY 2023 Congressional Budget Request, Budget in Brief, March 2022, p. 103.

Small Business Administration

Weak

Vector: 62%

Pages: 792-794AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"HR 3425 deals with oversight and performance accountability of contract security personnel for federal buildings, while the Project 2025 SBA section focuses on evaluating SBA program effectiveness, consolidating duplicative functions, and addressing personnel challenges. Both share themes of oversight and personnel management but apply to different agencies and contexts, resulting in only weak alignment."

Key themes:oversightperformance accountabilitypersonnel managementdata collectionresource allocation

— 759 — Small Business Administration ineffective programs, consolidate duplicative functions, and reallocate resources to more effective programs (such as the Office of Advocacy) or consider reducing the SBA budget. Personnel Challenges The SBA continues to expand programs and initiatives without first document- ing the effectiveness of existing programs or whether they involve areas in which the agency lacks staff expertise. For example, the SBA wants to expand the number of licensed Small Business Lending Companies (SBLCs), implement a new “Mis- sion-Based SBLC,” and remove a requirement for loan authorization within the 7(a) and 504 Loan programs and rely solely on a lender’s documents. Various IG reports have noted that the lack of skilled employees within the SBA has fueled fraud and mismanagement in COVID-19 lending programs, and congressional leaders have expressed alarm about these “changes that haphazardly overextend the SBA’s responsibilities at a time when they are devastated by fraud and underperforming on their core mission of serving the nation’s 33 million small businesses.”74 A conservative Administration should rein in these idealistic and impractical efforts, get current programs under control and properly staffed with people who can manage and perform competently, and outsource efforts where private-sector expertise is appropriate and more efficient. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. All contributors to this chapter are listed at the front of this volume, but David Burton and Caleb Orr deserve special mention. The author alone assumes responsibility for the content of this chapter, and no views expressed herein should be attributed to any other individual. — 760 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise ENDNOTES 1. H.R. 7953, Small Business Act, Public Law 85-536, 85th Congress, July 18, 1958, § 2, https://uscode.ecfr.io/ statutes/pl/85/536.pdf (accessed February 17, 2023), amended by H.R. 4877, One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021, Public Law 117-188, 117th Congress, October 20, 2022, https://www.congress. gov/117/plaws/publ188/PLAW-117publ188.pdf (accessed February 17, 2023). 2. U.S. Small Business Administration, “About SBA: Organization: Mission,” https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/ organization (accessed February 19, 2023). 3. Michael Faulkender, Robert Jackman, and Stephen I. Miran, “The Job-Preservation Effects of Paycheck Protection Program Loans,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Economic Policy, Working Paper No. 2020-01, December 2020, p. 9, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/226/Job-Preservation-Effects- Paycheck-Protection-Program-Loans.pdf (accessed February 16, 2023). 4. Kate Rogers, Scott Zamost, Karina Hernandez, and Jennifer Schlesinger, “As Pandemic Aid Was Rushed to Main Street, Criminals Seized on Covid Relief Programs,” CNBC, April 15, 2021, https://www.cnbc. com/2021/04/15/as-pandemic-aid-was-rushed-to-main-street-criminals-seized-on-ppp-eidl-.html (accessed February 16, 2023). 5. Kevin Brewer, “Bills Extend Statute of Limitation for Prosecuting PPP, EIDL Fraud,” Journal of Accountancy, August 10, 2022, https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2022/aug/bills-extend-statute-limitation- prosecuting-ppp-eidl-fraud.html (accessed February 16, 2023). 6. Sacha Pfeiffer, “Virtually All PPP Loans Have Been Forgiven with Limited Scrutiny,” NPR, October 12, 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/10/12/1128207464/ppp-loans-loan-forgiveness-small-business#:~:text=As%20 COVID-19%20shutdowns%20threatened,early%20days%20of%20the%20pandemic (accessed February 16, 2023). 7. U.S. Small Business Administration, “About SBA: Organization: SBA History,” https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/ organization (accessed February 19, 2023). 8. President Richard Nixon, Executive Order 11518, “Providing for the Increased Representation of the Interests of Small Business Concerns Before Departments and Agencies of the United States Government,” March 20, 1970, in Federal Register, Vol. 35, No. 56 (March 21, 1970), pp. 4939–4940, https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/ service/ll/fedreg/fr035/fr035056/fr035056.pdf (accessed February 18, 2023). 9. S. 3331, Small Business Amendments of 1974, Public Law 93-386, 93rd Congress, August 23, 1974, https://www. congress.gov/93/statute/STATUTE-88/STATUTE-88-Pg742.pdf (accessed February 19, 2023). 10. S. 299, Regulatory Flexibility Act, Public Law No. 96-354, 96th Congress, September 19, 1980, https://www. congress.gov/96/statute/STATUTE-94/STATUTE-94-Pg1164.pdf (accessed February 19, 2023). 11. Maeve P. Carey, “The Regulatory Flex Act: An Overview,” Congressional Research Service In Focus No. IF11900, August 16, 2021, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11900 (accessed February 18, 2023). 12. U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, “The Regulatory Flexibility Act,” https://advocacy.sba. gov/resources/the-regulatory-flexibility-act/ (accessed February 18, 2023). 13. H.R. 644, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, Public Law No. 114-125, 114th Congress, February 24, 2026, https://www.congress.gov/114/statute/STATUTE-130/STATUTE-130-Pg122.pdf (accessed March 21, 2023). 14. U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, “Advocacy Releases Trade Report,” December 21, 2018, https://advocacy.sba.gov/2018/12/21/advocacy-releases-trade-report/ (accessed March 21, 2023). 15. Associated Press, “Reagan Offers $994-Billion ‘Hard-Choices’ 1987 Budget,” Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1986, http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-05-mn-4369-story.html (accessed February 18, 2023). 16. Testimony of Hon. Hector V. Barreto, Administrator, Small Business Administration, in hearing, The President’s FY 2006 Budget Request for the Small Business Administration, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate, 109th Congress, 1st Session, February 17, 2005, p. 8, https://books.google.com/ books?id=UwD-2ICa8k8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed February 18, 2023). See also Report No. 109-49, Summary of Legislative and Oversight Activities During the 108th Congress, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate, 109th Congress, 1st Session, March 30, 2005, p. 21, https://www.congress.gov/109/crpt/srpt49/CRPT-109srpt49.pdf (accessed February 18, 2023).

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Minimal

Vector: 66%

Pages: 548-550AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"HR 3425 focuses on oversight and accountability of contract security personnel for federal buildings, which is unrelated to the Department of Housing and Urban Development policies in Project 2025 concerning housing markets, DEI/CRT/ESG reforms, housing supply, or homelessness initiatives."

— 515 — Department of Housing and Urban Development 25. Process must prioritize where political leadership can implement administrative reforms through regulatory action and subregulatory guidance reforms. 26. China and other foreign nations should not be able to disrupt our nation’s housing markets, including by artificially driving up prices and reducing affordability and access to housing for Americans who are crowded out of the market by such market participation. 27. These initiatives are maintained under such designations as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); critical race theory (CRT); black, indigenous, Pacific Islander, and other people of color (BIPOC); and environmental, social, and governance (ESG). 28. At a minimum, these efforts duplicate what the federal government already collects and assesses; at worst, they institute arbitrary procedures in real estate appraisal practices that undermine integrity and perversely introduce arbitrary biases into what should be an unbiased system for determining financial value. 29. Revise regulatory and subregulatory guidance, where applicable within statutory authorities, that adds unnecessary delay and costs to the construction and development of new housing and has been estimated to account for about 40 percent of new housing unit costs in multifamily housing. 30. The Biden Administration has issued a proposed rule to replace the Trump Administration’s “Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice” rule that had repealed earlier rules expanding AFFH enforcement. See U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing, “Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice,” Final Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 85, No. 153 (August 7, 2020), pp. 47899–47912, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-08-07/pdf/2020-16320.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Secretary, “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing,” Proposed Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 88, No. 27 (February 9, 2023), pp. 8516–8590, https://www. govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-07-16/pdf/2015-17032.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 31. Certain pilot initiatives may encourage greater take-up of loan products designed for faster equity accumulation, including loans with shorter terms and accelerated amortization schedules. In concept, the FHA’s Home Equity Accelerator Loan (HEAL) and Good Neighbor Next Door (GNND) pilot initiatives might lead to meaningful wealth generation for first-time buyers, but they should be available to all eligible households only when they do not arbitrarily discriminate based on race or other characteristics. 32. Housing supply does remain a problem in the U.S., but constructing more units at the low end of the market will not solve the problem. Investors and developers can deliver at more efficient cost new units that will allow for greater upward mobility of rental and ownership housing stock and better target increased construction of mid-tier rental units. Further, and more fundamental to the housing supply challenge in markets across the U.S., localities can consider revising land use, zoning, and building regulations that constrict new housing development, adding time delays and costs that impede construction. Federal housing policy should get out of the way where possible and minimize the distortive impact that stimulating greater demand through loose lending can have in driving up housing prices for households that are looking for affordable entry into the housing market. 33. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Secretary, “Housing and Community Development Act of 1980: Verification of Eligible Status,” Proposed Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 84, No. 91 (May 10, 2019), pp. 20589–20595, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-05-10/pdf/2019-09566.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 34. Reforms should contemplate rent payment flexibilities, allow escrow savings, and set maximum term limits that can reduce implicit penalties for increasing household incomes over eligibility terms for housing assistance and reweight waiting-list prioritization for two-parent households. 35. Some PHAs have been able to implement work requirements and term limit policies in various congressionally authorized demonstration programs, notably the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration program established in 1996 for 39 PHAs (Congress has since authorized another 100 PHAs) in which participating MTW PHAs were given authority to implement rent reforms, work requirements and other experimental policies in rental assistance programs along with flexibilities in the use of capital and operating appropriations. 36. The FSS program has a general five-year term with a possible two-year extension, which could be applied at the term limit for overall benefits, and certain PHAs have imposed five-year to seven-year term limits. Families in these programs build escrow savings during their term eligibility that helps to facilitate successful transitions to family self-sufficiency and unassisted housing. — 516 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise 37. HUD should implement administrative changes in regulation and guidance and seek statutory authority to end all Housing First directives of Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees and contract homelessness providers in addition to establishing restrictions on local Housing First policies where HUD grant funds are used. 38. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) was established in the 1990s, and numerous Administrations have devoted enormous resources to the Housing First model, experimenting with various ways to provide federally financed rapid rehousing and permanent housing opportunities. Housing First is a far-left idea premised on the belief that homelessness is primarily circumstantial rather than behavioral. The Housing First answer to homelessness is to give someone a house instead of attempting to understand the underlying causes of homelessness. Federal intervention centered on Housing First has failed to acknowledge that resolving the issue of homelessness is often a matter of resolving mental health and substance abuse challenges. Instead of the permanent supportive housing proffered by Housing First, a conservative Administration should shift to transitional housing with a focus on addressing the underlying issues that cause homelessness in the first place. 39. The Senate Low-Income First-Time Homebuyers (LIFT) Act would address this policy goal. See S. 2797, Low-Income First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2021 (LIFT Homebuyers Act of 2021), 117th Congress, introduced September 22, 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s2797/BILLS-117s2797is.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 40. FHA did not facilitate the widespread use of 30-year mortgages until the 1950s when, interacting with Federal Reserve policies, federal agencies began broader adoption of the mortgages, which, despite lowering the monthly repayment terms, result in slow equity accumulation and wealth-building opportunities. 41. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 fundamentally revised the scope of federal regulation in the nation’s housing finance system, placing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the purview of a newly established Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and establishing a Housing Trust Fund (HTF) that is administered in the HUD Office of Community Planning and Development. See H.R. 3221, Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Public Law No. 110-289, 110th Congress, July 30, 2008, https://www.congress. gov/110/plaws/publ289/PLAW-110publ289.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 42. Guiding questions: What reforms should be proposed that could be accomplished within five years? What reforms can be done administratively, and what reforms would need legislative authorization? Are there functions that HUD administers that could be achieved more effectively at another department or agency? What big-picture reforms should be proposed that might take more than five years that would reorganize HUD and its programs to meet the objectives in the vision or mission? What would occur in the absence of these public finance subsidies? How much crowd-out do these subsidies create in the market? Would America be a seriously underhoused nation without these subsidies? Who are the policies intended to benefit? What organizational changes must be made? 43. The Faircloth Amendment (Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998) amended the Housing Act of 1937 to maintain public housing units at 1999 levels, preventing housing authorities from maintaining more public housing than they did then. H.R. 4194, Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, Public Law No. 105-276, 105th Congress, October 21, 1998, Title V, https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ276/PLAW-105publ276.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). In recent years, the statutory restriction on new construction of public housing units has been circumvented through some narrow uses of preservation programs such as the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, initially authorized in 2012 and reauthorized several times since under higher program unit conversion caps. Congress also provided paths for renewal and continuation of a portion of existing public housing; project/site-based housing stock (refinancing with long-term HAP contract commitments); and Section 8 units through the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (MAHRA). H.R. 2158, Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, Public Law No. 105-65, 105th Congress, October 27, 1997, Title V, https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ65/PLAW-105publ65.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 44. As the evolution of HUD rental assistance transitions away from the public housing model toward housing choice vouchers, there should be adequate landlord participation to ensure that the supply of housing units for rent in these programs meets the demand for rent among eligible tenants. This issue has been addressed in various ways, including by a task force instituted at the department during the Trump Administration, but could likely remain a challenge in the administration of the program.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Minimal

Vector: 63%

Pages: 545-547AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"HR 3425 focuses on oversight and accountability of contract security personnel for federal buildings under GSA, while the Project 2025 HUD section discusses financial management, audit reforms, and potential devolution of HUD programs. There is no substantive overlap in subject matter, agency focus, or policy objectives between the two."

— 512 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise housing model. At best, any new public investments will provide maintenance funds to bring substandard housing units and properties up to livability standards but will still fail to address larger aims of upward mobility and dynamism for local housing markets where land can be sold by PHAs and put to greater economic use, thereby benefiting entire local economies through greater private investment, productivity and employment opportunities, and increased tax revenue. Any long-term view of HUD’s future must include maintaining the strong financial operations and reliable reporting that are needed to run a $50 billion- per-year agency. Before the Trump Administration, HUD effectively did not have a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for eight years, and HUD’s financial infrastructure inevitably deteriorated. The department’s auditors were unable to conclude that HUD’s internal operations were producing accurate financial reporting. The audi- tors had identified multiple material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in the department’s internal financial controls. Overall, the deterioration of HUD’s financial infrastructure led to a lack of accountability with respect to the use of taxpayer funds as well as to pervasive difficulties with operations and program implementation. However, by hiring a new CFO from the private sector with a proven track record of visionary leadership, HUD was able to implement an agencywide governance structure that improved its financial processes and internal controls and harnessed the power of innovative new technologies to bring a modernized business mindset to the agency’s financial infrastructure. By the end of the Trump Administration, for the first time in nearly a decade, HUD was able to address all of its previously identified material weaknesses, and the auditors were able to issue their first clean audit report on HUD’s financial statements and internal controls. Finally, and more fundamentally, Congress could consider a wholesale overhaul of HUD that contemplates devolving many HUD functions to states and localities with any remaining federal functions consolidated to other federal agencies (for example, by transferring loan guarantee programs to SBA; moving Indian housing programs to the Department of the Interior; moving rental assistance, mortgage insurance programs, and GNMA to a redesignated Housing and Home Finance Agency). Generally, this reform path could consolidate some programs, elimi- nate others that have failed to produce meaningful long-run results, and narrow the scope of many programs so that they are closer to what they were when they were created. — 513 — Department of Housing and Urban Development ENDNOTES 1. At a 1998 Senate hearing, then-HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo acknowledged that the department “faced a competence gap” and had “the dubious distinction of being the only federal agency designated as ‘high risk’ by the General Accounting [now Government Accountability] Office (GAO),” even referencing the Section 8 rental subsidy as “on the brink of becoming the next savings and loan scandal,” and explained how the department was stepping up enforcement efforts “focused on closing the competence gap by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.” See “Testimony of Secretary Andrew Cuomo before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies,” March 25, 1998, https://archives.hud.gov/ testimony/1998/tst32598.cfm (accessed March 4, 2023). 2. H.R. 7984, Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, Public Law No. 89-117, 89th Congress, August 10, 1965, https://www.congress.gov/89/statute/STATUTE-79/STATUTE-79-Pg451.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 3. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Budget in Brief, pp. 2 and 7, https://www.hud.gov/ sites/dfiles/CFO/documents/2023_BudgetInBriefFINAL.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 4. For example, the Special Applications Center (SAC) located in Chicago, Illinois, was established in 1998 as a division of the Office of Public and Indian Housing to accept, review, and approve all nonfunded, noncompetitive applications and plans for demolition, disposition, and conversion of land subject to an annual contributions contract (ACC) in public housing. 5. The Secretary has delegated full authority for the Administration and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity but also has delegated limited assignment and decision-making authority to the General Counsel. 6. Effectively the HUD Chief Operating Officer and appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent. 7. The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) is an independent adjudicatory office within the Office of the Secretary. Led by a Director who is appointed by the Secretary, it supervises the Administrative Judges of the Office of Appeals, the administrative law judges of the Office of Administrative Law Judges, and the OHA support staff. The HUD Secretary appoints administrative judges and administrative law judges in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. Chapter 5, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/part-I/ chapter-5 (accessed March 4, 2023). 8. HUD currently has a Departmental Equity Assessment Working Group, supported with five FTEs funded by the OSDBU, “as part of the President’s Executive Order 13985, Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” See U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Congressional Justifications, p. 35-15, https://www.hud.gov/sites/ dfiles/CFO/documents/2023HUDCongressionalJustificationsFINALelectronicversion.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023), and President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” January 20, 2021, in Federal Register, Vol. 86, No. 14 (January 25, 2021), pp. 7009–7013, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-01-25/pdf/2021- 01753.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). 9. Interestingly, “[t]he 2023 President’s Budget requests $748 thousand for CFBNP, which is $436 thousand less than the 2022 Annualized CR level. The Budget reflects total funding (carryover and new authority) of $1.2 million, $448 thousand less than 2022 total funding.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2023 Congressional Justifications, p. 35-16. 10. See H.R. 558, Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, Public Law No. 100-77, 100th Congress, July 22, 1987, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-101/pdf/STATUTE-101-Pg482.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). Later renamed the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 11. Established under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5301 et seq., https:// www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42 (accessed March 4, 2023). 12. S. 566, Cranston–Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, Public Law No. 101-625, 101st Congress, November 28, 1990, Title II, https://www.congress.gov/101/statute/STATUTE-104/STATUTE-104-Pg4079.pdf (accessed March 5, 2023). 13. S. 1, Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, Public Law No. 91-646, 91st Congress, January 2, 1971, https://www.congress.gov/91/statute/STATUTE-84/STATUTE-84-Pg1894.pdf (accessed March 4, 2023). “The URA establishes the minimum Federal requirements for the acquisition of real property for Federally-funded programs and projects, and for the relocation of persons who must move from

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About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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