Failure of southern Nevada agencies to spend HUD funds among topics discussed

January 21, 2010

Washington, DC – Nevada Senator Harry Reid had a very productive and direct conversation today with Shaun Donovan, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), on the urgent need to provide Nevada with additional resources to fight the housing crisis.  Secretary Donovan committed to send full time staff to Nevada and Reid expects to hear from him shortly on whether a field office will be opened there.  Reid and Donovan also talked about additional action that is needed to ensure principal reduction is a priority in the Administration’s programs to provide incentives for lenders to modify mortgages and help Nevadans who owe more on their homes than they are worth.
 
“I was very clear with the Secretary about the urgency with which HUD needs to help Nevada address the housing crisis,” Reid said. “Today’s meeting was just the latest discussion in an ongoing conversation to ensure Nevadans are getting the help they need, and the Secretary promised to get back to me in a few weeks with some solutions on how to best move forward.”
 
Another topic Reid and Donovan discussed was funding Nevada has received through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the failure of agencies in southern Nevada to spend the tens of millions of dollars they already received in the first round of funding. Reid told Donovan he wants HUD to notify his office when the agency notices such problems so we can ensure that a failure to administer funding never again impedes Nevada’s ability to get more help.