Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) testified on Wednesday that senior HUD officials have violated basic employee policy, breaking federal law in the process.
Some of those accused of violations were appointed to their positions by President Obama and approved by the U.S. Senate.
In testimony given before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, HUD Inspector General David Montoya discussed occurrences of “senior officials bending the rules and engaging in outright misconduct,” admitting that it was done “sometimes with minimal risk that HUD will take appropriate action when it learns of the misconduct.”
At issue are instances in which HUD officials allegedly violated federal law by participating in “indirect or grassroots lobbying,” a GAO witness said, as they persuaded employees of organizations receiving HUD funding to contact members of Congress to discuss HUD’s pending appropriations legislation.
Other reports have alleged that HUD officials worked to conceal their illegal actions by interfering with the investigation.
A report issued last year by HUD’s inspector general into this same matter also revealed that HUD officials allegedly attempted to cover up their illegal lobbying activity by obstructing the investigation.
During his testimony, Montoya said HUD employees withheld information and even threatened investigators.
U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), chairman of the subcommittee, spoke at the hearing about the issues and the violations listed in the report from the HUD inspector general. “At the time, I found those revelations troubling,” he said, “but I had hoped we could chalk it up to a few bad apples at HUD. But we’re back here today to discuss what happened with those so-called ‘bad apples’ because of other, completely unrelated allegations that have surfaced.”