Senate Banking Committee Questions Scott Turner on Housing Crisis, Homelessness and HUD Management

Scott Turner, nominee to be secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, faced questions from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Jan. 16 about how he would address the nation’s housing affordability and homelessness crises and manage HUD if confirmed.

Turner told the committee he would “take inventory” across HUD programs and pledged to visit communities and partner with local officials and nonprofits. “HUD, if you will, is failing at its most basic mission, and that has to come to an end,” Turner said in his opening testimony, citing the department’s point-in-time count and saying the agency should focus on building more housing and improving program performance.

The exchange centered on several recurring themes: the scale of the housing shortfall, the rise in homelessness, whether HUD should pursue regulatory relief to lower building costs, the role of private investment and Opportunity Zones, and how HUD should use its grant and voucher programs.

Why it matters: Senators from both parties framed the hearing as a test of whether Turner has concrete, executable plans for lowering housing costs and reducing homelessness. At issue are program priorities, how HUD spends existing funds and whether the department should push states and localities to change zoning or reduce regulatory costs to increase supply.

What Turner said and what senators asked

Turner described his own background in the Opportunity Zones initiative and said it had mobilized private investment; earlier in the hearing Sen. John Cornyn introduced Turner and cited roughly $50 billion in private investment tied to Opportunity Zones. Turner said he would look to replicate programming that produces measurable results and to “go to the people” by visiting neighborhoods across the country.

Ranking Member Sen. Elizabeth Warren repeatedly pressed Turner for specifics. Warren said Americans need to hear “your plans for building the millions of homes that America needs” and asked whether Turner supports additional federal investment in housing programs such as HOME. Turner said he would seek to “maximize the budget that we do have” and promised program reviews to ensure funds meet intended needs rather than committing to a specific new funding increase.

On homelessness, Turner pointed to local partnerships and wraparound services and urged using “those that are on the local level” with proven results. Senators highlighted the department’s point-in-time count cited in the hearing: Turner referenced a HUD report showing roughly 770,000 people experiencing homelessness on a single night, and senators noted an 18% increase over the previous 12 months and larger increases since 2020.

Regulation, codes and costs

Several senators pressed Turner on federal rules that they said raise construction costs: Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage requirements, environmental reviews, Build America Buy America provisions, and newer energy or climate-related standards. Turner said he would review HUD regulations and take inventory of burdens that increase costs, and he supported examining manufactured housing rules—including the HUD code definition that some senators said should be updated to remove a permanent-chassis requirement to expand factory-built housing.

Private capital, Opportunity Zones and CDFIs

Senators from both parties discussed private equity and institutional investors buying single-family homes and asked whether that concentration of ownership is squeezing out first-time buyers. Turner said he would “dig into this” with committee members and emphasized that more capital can expand supply if the right investors participate. He also expressed support for Community Development Financial Institutions and said he would work with senators on expanding their role in underserved places.

Program oversight, vouchers and disaster funds

Lawmakers pressed Turner on core HUD programs: HOME, the Housing Trust Fund, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the Housing Choice Voucher program and Family Self-Sufficiency. Turner repeatedly committed to reviewing program effectiveness and to working with Congress on budgets. Senators urged him to oppose cuts to HOME and CDBG and to ensure timely disbursement of congressionally appropriated disaster recovery funds; Turner committed to making disaster recovery funds a priority for speedy deployment if confirmed.

Civil rights, appraisal bias and fair housing

Sen. Raphael Warnock asked Turner to commit to vigorous enforcement of federal fair housing laws; Turner answered yes and said he would uphold existing law. Warnock and others raised appraisal bias and asked whether HUD would continue efforts to address disparities in appraisals and to provide consumers with data; Turner said he has begun reviewing the issue and would work with senators to study remedies.

Tribal housing and mixed-status families

Several senators from states with tribal populations sought Turner’s commitment to work on Native housing issues and to enable tribal CDFIs greater flexibility. Senators also raised concerns about mixed-status families residing in subsidized housing and urged care to avoid unintended homelessness for U.S. citizen children; Turner said he would uphold federal law while recognizing the nuance in such family situations.

Process and next steps

The committee asked Turner to respond to written questions. At the close of the hearing Chairman Tim Scott said senators must submit questions for the record by 12 p.m. on Jan. 17, and Turner was asked to respond by the committee’s stated deadline. The committee will consider the nomination through its normal calendar process.

Taken together, the hearing underscored bipartisan agreement that housing affordability and homelessness are urgent, while also revealing partisan differences over federal funding levels, the role of regulation, and the use of federal authority to encourage state and local policy changes.