New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is meeting with Dr. Ben Carson, the secretary-designee of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, ahead of his confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Senator Bob Menendez questions whether Dr. Ben Carson understands the responsibilities of his pending appointment.
“I want to get a view of Dr. Carson’s understanding of what HUD’s mission is, and the priorities he will have as the secretary designee,” Menendez said by conference call with several New Jersey mayors.
Menendez says he’ll talk to Carson about his views on welfare assistance programs. The HUD secretary-designee’s comments while campaigning for president weren’t favorable.
“I want to see how he reconciles those comments with the very agency that he is going to lead that in many respects is diametrically different than the comments he made in general about federal programs and federal assistance.”
Many New Jersey communities rely on HUD for federal dollars. Mayor Ras Baraka says more people live in public housing across Newark than anywhere else in New Jersey.
“We have a very old housing stock and we’re trying to repair that, find new housing and build more housing for our residents because the demand is very high. It means we have to have a serious relationship with the person that’s in charge with HUD and that they have a very laser like focus on making sure that we’re housing the most vulnerable population of this country,” Baraka said.
If confirmed as HUD secretary, Dr. Carson would lead the way in areas like federally funding affordable housing and the preparation and prevention of areas affected by natural disasters.