This story was first published at Colorado Newsline.
DENVER | All six Democratic members of Colorado’s congressional delegation signed onto a letter asking U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner how cuts to the Denver Regional Office will affect housing services in the state.
The federal government will vacate its HUD office in Denver at the end of September, a move the Democrats say is concerning because of the unknown effect that move will have on various services housed at that location. The letter also seeks clarity on future staff reductions since the staff has already been cut by 50% since January.
U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette of Denver, Joe Neguse of Lafayette, Jason Crow of Centennial and Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood sought information from Turner on the process to reconsider the lease termination and HUD’s plans to continue services if the Denver office does close.
“These actions will make it much harder for Colorado constituents to access housing services and will jeopardize critical federal housing operations for multiple regions nationwide,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter asks Turner to maintain current staffing levels, conduct an analysis of how additional cuts would affect federal housing operations nationally, and engage with Colorado and regional partners who depend on the Denver office before implementing additional changes. They also ask for information on a cost-benefit analysis comparing terminating the Denver office lease to the operational costs of disrupted services.
The Denver Regional Office is home to HUD’s Region 8 hub, the Denver Homeownership Center and Western Regional multifamily operations, according to the letter, programs that process billions of dollars in federal housing funding. The Democrats said more staff reductions would result in further delays for families seeking housing vouchers and processing delays for those seeking Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages.
Communications between local housing authorities and community development partners and the federal government could also be disrupted if there are further staff reductions, the letter says.
The letter asks for a response to its questions by Sept. 12.
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