Ben Caron's HUD poised to end Obama's illegal Section

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The Department of Housing and Urban Development is poised to reverse the Obama administration's policy and return to a competitive bidding process to award Section 8 housing, according to a well-placed source in the department.

The move would overturn the Obama-era methodology of using a grant-style process that was rebuked by administrators and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court.

The HUD official said many of the steps necessary to change back to the competitive procurement method are being taken now, but didn't want to comment on when the announcement from the department might happen for fear of tainting the bidding process.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/hud-poised-to-end-obamas-illegal-section-8-housing-grant-scheme/article/2630660

Diaz-Balart is one of a small handful of elected officials who put pressure on HUD and then-Secretary Julián Castro during the years in which HUD ignored findings that their grant process was illegal.
Section 8 housing is a federal program that pays rental assistance to landlords to help low-income people acquire affordable housing.
Because HUD had problems administering the program, in 1995 it started to contract out the management of Section 8 housing units through a competitive bidding process. However, in March of 2012, HUD suddenly shifted away from the competitive bidding process, and began using funding mechanisms which were more like grants.
Contractors who had previously gained HUD's business under the bidding process appealed to the Government Accountability Office in 2012, just months after HUD changed course. And by August of that year, the GAO ruled that HUD's actions were "unreasonable and in disregard of applicable statutory guidance."