{"id":2267887,"date":"2024-06-14T13:09:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T17:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-audit-of-housing-finance-agency-since-time-of-ussr\/"},"modified":"2024-06-14T13:14:24","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T17:14:24","slug":"no-audit-of-housing-finance-agency-since-time-of-ussr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-audit-of-housing-finance-agency-since-time-of-ussr\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing finance agency hasn&#8217;t been audited since the USSR era"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fno-audit-of-housing-finance-agency-since-time-of-ussr%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2267887&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Despite significant issues and failures noted in state \u200dhousing agencies nationwide, Pennsylvania&#8217;s Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) has not been rigorously audited since\u200c possibly the 1980s. The lack\u200b of recent audits has raised concerns among legislators regarding the transparency and effectiveness of PHFA, particularly highlighted\u200d by its mishandling during the COVID-19 pandemic. House Bill 2387, spearheaded by Rep. Kristin Marcell, proposes\u2062 that\u2064 the state\u2019s\u2063 auditor general should conduct annual audits to ensure accountability. This initiative comes after recognizing \u2062that PHFA only utilized a fraction of the available funds for rental and mortgage assistance in recent years and faced technical failures with \u2063its programs, blaming external contractors for the issues. The proposed law aims\u200b at instituting stronger oversight before any further\u200d funding increases\u200c are approved for PHFA.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2014 Though state housing agencies have seen failure, malfeasance, and money gone missing across the nation, it\u2019s been ages since Pennsylvania\u2019s has been audited.<\/p>\n<p>If some legislators get their way, though, the situation could change.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/cfdocs\/billinfo\/billinfo.cfm?syear=2023&#038;sind=0&#038;body=H&#038;type=B&#038;bn=2387\">House Bill 2387<\/a><\/strong>, sponsored by Rep. Kristin Marcell, R-Richboro, would require the auditor general to conduct an annual audit of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Current law requires an audit \u201cfrom time to time,\u201d but has effectively meant \u201conce in a generation\u201d at best.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s come to our attention that the PHFA has not undergone a thorough audit in recent memory, a situation that raises concerns about the transparency and effectiveness of its operations, especially given its failures during the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d Marcell said during an April press conference.<\/p>\n<p>When Marcell reached out to the auditor\u2019s office, their best guess was the last PHFA audit happened <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/cfdocs\/Legis\/CSM\/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&#038;SPick=20230&#038;cosponId=42481\">in the 1980s<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 but couldn\u2019t find a copy of the report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe cannot in good faith authorize an increase for PHFA until we ensure the proper safeguards are put in place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans raised concerns about the PHFA since the agency only disbursed $54 million of a possible $175 million for rental and mortgage assistance in 2020. In 2021, it received $350 million from the American Rescue Plan for a homeowners assistance grant program, but the program was shut down for more than a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/confirmed-the-number-of-indefinitely-confined-wisconsin-voters-who-can-vote-without-ids-increased-from-60000-in-2016-to-over-200000-in-2020\/\" title=\"Confirmed: The Number of 'Indefinitely Confined' Wisconsin Voters Who Can Vote without IDs Increased from 60,000 in 2016 to Over 200,000 in 2020\">year due<\/a> to technical issues.<\/p>\n<p>The agency <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotlightpa.org\/news\/2023\/03\/pa-mortgage-relief-delays-contractor\/\">blamed the contractor it chose<\/a><\/strong> for botching its mortgage relief program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we allocate critical funds to support Pennsylvanians in crisis, we must have confidence that PHFA is distributing those funds appropriately and timely,\u201d Marcell said.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania isn\u2019t the only state to have some trouble with its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leading-candidate-for-new-york-city-mayor-may-not-live-in-city-report-suggests\/\" title=\"Leading Candidate For New York City Mayor May Not Live In City, Report Suggests\">housing agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A report from the Government Accountability Office in 2023 found that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.route-fifty.com\/management\/2023\/08\/risk-fraud-high-nations-largest-housing-program-report-finds\/389405\/\">the risk of fraud was high<\/a> <\/strong>in the nation\u2019s largest federal housing program due to a lack of audits and \u201cweak control mechanisms.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Washington D.C. Housing Authority has faced allegations of conflicts of interest and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2023\/03\/30\/dcha-voucher-fraud-audit\/\">voucher fraud<\/a><\/strong> in recent years and is <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2024\/01\/05\/dcha-audit-dc-government\/\">years behind on turning in audits<\/a><\/strong> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/better-than-expected-u-s-economy-added-638000-jobs-in-october-unemployment-dropped-to-6-9\/\" title=\"Better Than Expected: U.S. Economy Added 638,000 Jobs in October, Unemployment Dropped to 6.9%\">federal government<\/a>. In North Carolina, authorities discovered that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/abc11.com\/taxpayer-theft-money-stolen-nc-finance-housing-agency-nchfa\/13474678\/\">$3 million was stolen<\/a><\/strong> from the state housing agency. And in Oregon, the state had sent out almost <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ktvz.com\/news\/oregon-northwest\/2024\/01\/04\/audit-oregons-housing-agency-distributed-426-million-in-emergency-rental-aid-but-couldnt-verify-proper-distribution\/\">$500 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/around-750000-households-face-eviction-in-2021-following-moratorium-ban-goldman-sachs\/\" title=\"Around 750,000 Households Face Eviction in 2021 Following Moratorium Ban: Goldman Sachs\">emergency rental aid<\/a><\/a><\/strong>, but the housing agency couldn\u2019t verify the money was used properly.<\/p>\n<p>Other city housing agencies have had a tendency to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrtv.com\/news\/wrtv-investigates\/indianapolis-housing-agency-independent-audit-shows-more-than-1-million-due-in-bills\">spend too much<\/a><\/strong> and end up in debt.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the bill will come up for a vote, though, remains to be seen. Marcell\u2019s bill awaits action in the House Commerce Committee. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(The Center Square) \u2014 Pennsylvania&#8217;s state housing agency hasn&#8217;t been audited in years, despite widespread issues in similar agencies nationwide. However, this could change with House Bill 2387, proposed by Rep. Kristin Marcell, R-Richboro, which mandates audits by the auditor general<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2267888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24037853666052.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2267887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24037853666052.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2267887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2267887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2267887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2267888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2267887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2267887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2267887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}