August 24, 2016

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable David A. Montoya
Inspector General
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street SW
Washington, DC 20410
Dear Inspector General Montoya:
On August 5, 2016, I sent a letter to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) regarding wanted fugitive felons being allowed to live in public
housing in direct violation of federal law. The HUD Office of the Inspector General
(HUD OIG) was copied on the letter.
Although public housing authorities (PHAs) receive upwards of ninety percent of
their funding from the federal government, HUD asserts it has little authority over how
the PHAs operate. HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan told the Daily Caller, Public
Housing Authorities are locally owned and operated, and that it was those HUDfunded entities, rather than the agency itself, that illegally allowed fugitives to remain in
public housing.1
During a phone call with my staff, HUD OIG stated that the document attached
to the July 26, 2016 Daily Caller article2 was not a report but a draft internal document
Ethan Barton; Official Finger-Pointing Lets Dangerous Fugitives Stay in Public Housing; The Daily
Caller News Foundation; http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/10/official-finger-pointing-lets-dangerousfugitives-stay-in-public-housing/.
2 Ethan Barton; Exclusive: 1,300 Fugitives Live In Federally-Funded Housing, And No One Seems To
Care; THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION; http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/26/exclusive-1300fugitives-live-in-federally-funded-housing-and-no-one-seems-to-care/.
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August 24, 2016
Page 2 of 3

that contained inaccurate information. HUD OIG further explained that the HUD data
was not properly matched with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
database, an electronic clearinghouse of crime data.3 Accordingly, the total number of
actual felons in public housing was unknown. My staff was told that the OIG has not
successfully matched the data in the four years since this draft document was created.
Yet, according to the 2012 Semiannual Reports,4 HUD OIG was participating in the
Fugitive Felon Initiative, a law enforcement effort to locate and apprehend fugitive
felons wanted for violent crimes.5
It is troubling that the full number of wanted fugitive felons living in public
housing remains unknown, unexplained, undocumented, and unjustified. Tenants
deserve to know if a wanted fugitive felon is living in the same housing project.
It is HUDs responsibility to ensure that there are adequate controls to prevent
wanted felons from living in public housing across the country. It is the HUD OIGs
responsibility to report to Congress and the public on the adequacy of those controls.
Accordingly, please conduct a thorough, nationwide investigation into the number of
wanted fugitive felons living in public housing and the adequacy of controls in place to
prevent that from occurring. The American people need assurance that HUD is
enforcing the law and ensuring the safety and security of public housing tenants.
In addition, please provide the following information:
1. Please describe what HUD OIG has done to match the 1300 names from
the 2012 investigation with the NCIC database, when that effort will be
complete, and what the results have revealed.
2. Is HUD OIG still participating in the Fugitive Felon Initiative? If not, why
not?
3. What other efforts, if any, were made in the past to investigate the extent
of wanted fugitive felons living in public housing across the country?
Please provide a response to my office by September 9, 2016. Should you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact Janet Drew of my staff at (202) 224-5225.

https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ncic
https://www.hudoig.gov/reports-publications/semiannual-reports/semiannual-report-congress-periodending-march-31-2012, p. 2, footnote 1; and https://www.hudoig.gov/reports-publications/semiannualreports/semiannual-report-congress-period-ending-september-30-2012, p. 2, footnote 1.
5 https://www.hudoig.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sar-66.pdf , p. 35.
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Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary

Cc:

The Honorable Patrick Leahy

Ranking Member
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Susan Collins, Chairman
Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and
Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Jack Reed, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and
Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Tim Scott, Chairman
Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
The Honorable Robert Menendez, Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs