Housing Bill Passes But Lacks Staffing
Congress finally reached a rare, bipartisan miracle to solve the housing crisis. The catch? The agency responsible for actually implementing it just had its workforce gutted by DOGE. Now, Washington is discovering that you can’t build a 21st-century housing revolution when there’s nobody left to process the paperwork.
A Historic Victory!–Please Ignore the Empty Desks
Congress just passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a landmark bipartisan effort aimed at fixing the nation’s severe housing shortage. Everyone cheered. But the celebration abruptly ended when reality hit: the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has shed over 30 percent of its workforce in three years, thanks to aggressive, DOGE-directed budget cuts.
DOGE Ate My Homework (And My Staff)
Lawmakers are suddenly realizing that passing a law is only step one. HUD now has a mountain of paperwork, dozens of new policies to enact, and barely anyone to do the typing. “DOGE came in with a broad brush,” lamented GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, noting the agency might now lack the basic ability to function. Even the union representing HUD staff pointed out the absurd, self-inflicted bottleneck: the bill gave HUD massive new responsibilities but absolutely zero operational funding to hire people to actually do the work.
Don’t Worry, AI Will Build Your House
Since the subject-matter experts have left the building, outside advocacy groups are stepping in, offering to literally write the federal regulations themselves using AI. The administration insists HUD is totally capable of meeting its obligations, despite planning to maintain the 2025 staff reductions. But as one lawmaker noted, implementing a 59-provision mega-bill takes years under ideal circumstances. With a gutted agency, that timeline is anyone’s guess.
