Every year, the city of Bend to help potential homeowners make a down payment or to assist a developer in buying land to build more housing.
The money, which helps create more affordable housing in one of the state鈥檚 most expensive cities, comes from a federal grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The federal agency, often referred to as HUD, offers support for housing and people experiencing homelessness; it appears to be the next agency facing layoffs as the Trump administration continues its mission to scale back the size of the federal government.
In Oregon, the prospect of such cuts comes at a crucial time: the state is in the midst of trying to solve a
Margaret Salazar, who was the regional director for HUD under former President Joe Biden, said the Office of Community Planning and Development inside HUD administers grant funding for infrastructure projects, affordable housing development, housing assistance programs and offers flexible dollars for states to use on projects. That office, according to reporting by NPR, could lose more than 80% of its staff nationwide. It鈥檚 unclear how many people could lose their jobs in Oregon offices.
The staffers within that office, Salazar said, are charged with making sure the states are using the money the way they should. The office is also in charge of oversight of the grant dollars.
鈥淭he thick irony here is we鈥檙e hearing justification that the administration is trying to target waste, fraud and abuse and this is the staff whose very job it is to make sure there is no waste, fraud and abuse of these public dollars,鈥� said Salazar, who oversaw Oregon鈥檚 housing department before leaving for the Biden administration.
Oregon has spent millions of dollars in the past couple of years toward building more housing. Despite the money and a slew of new policies, the state still isn鈥檛 building fast enough to meet the governor鈥檚 goal of adding
The homelessness crisis remains a top priority in the Portland region and beyond, and more Oregonians face eviction cases. This legislative session, Gov. Tina Kotek is also hoping to funnel more than $200 million more to fund a statewide homeless shelter system.
So any cuts to housing help at this time could be disruptive. Andrea Bell, the director of the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department, said the federal government is a 鈥渒ey housing partner鈥� that helps the state address homelessness by paying for rental assistance and offering programs for veterans.
鈥淭he work that HUD does and the programs we rely on them for are crucial,鈥� Bell said.
For the 2023-25 budget cycle, HUD gave the state nearly $600 million, including $186 million for rental subsidies.
Another key part of services the federal agency offers the state is in technical assistance. Bell said HUD also offers key technical support to local governments and nonprofits to help navigate ways to land federal funding on a project.
Bell said that means determining if a project is viable, how federal cash may address problems locally so developers 鈥済et that deal over the line and help get the dirt running,鈥� Bell said.
Four Portland HUD employees have chosen to leave recently after receiving the 鈥淔ork in the Road鈥� email from the federal government, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden. Two people have been laid off so far, his office said, but the numbers are expected to grow.
鈥淗ousing is a human right, and cruel cuts like these by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and their cronies knock out the foundations needed to help make housing affordable for Oregonians struggling to get a roof over their heads,鈥� Wyden said in an email statement to OPB Thursday night.
Another large group in Portland鈥檚 federal office bracing for cuts is the Office of Public and Indian Housing, which is key in rolling out the Section 8 rental voucher program and helping local housing authorities.
Salazar, who is now the CEO of REACH Community Development, which builds affordable housing, said neither the state nor local governments can really jump in and administer federal grants.
鈥淎 lot of what the staff does is expedite the dollars out the door,鈥� Salazar said. 鈥淎 local government has a creative idea, they go to the HUD office and say 鈥榃e want to do something different鈥� and the HUD staff is going to say, 鈥楬ow do we be responsive?鈥欌��
Now, she鈥檚 worried there will be no one on the other end of the line when organizations like call HUD: 鈥淚 think people are going to learn really quickly how hard our federal civil servants are working for us to expedite critical funding at a time when we need it the most.鈥�
