The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its Fiscal Year 2025 Agency Financial Report to Congress this week, highlighting what the department defined as “significant misuse of taxpayer funds under the Biden administration including potential payment errors totaling more than $5 billion.”
In a press statement, HUD said its Office of the Chief Financial Officer used “advanced data analytics to examine all Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) payments made in 2024.” This review uncovered what HUD identified as “significant potential improper payments, process gaps, and material weaknesses.”
Among the findings detailed in the report were:
- A nearly $50 million potential error in the ledger to subledger reconciliation where payments in the financial system did not match the detailed tenant-level records
- A $150 million potential error where payments were made for tenants with a Social Security number that did not meet Social Security Administration rules
- A potential $77 million error that identified payments made for 29,715 deceased individuals, and
- A $287 million potential error on payment made for excessively high rents
“A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions’ worth of potential improper payments,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner. “HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable. Additionally, the Department is advancing efforts made under President Trump’s first administration to strengthen program integrity and ensure taxpayer-funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended for.”
