Jack Kemp Helped Restore HUD at Critical Time
By Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR ® Magazine
As a reporter in Washington covering housing in one form or another since 1988, I've had a great perch from which to watch our federal housing secretaries in action, and I can say without hesitation one of the most transformative was Jack Kemp, who passed away on Saturday.
The former long-time congressman from Buffalo, N.Y., and an all-star quarterback of the Bills, brought his trademark enthusiasm, optimism, and ebullience to what was a very hot seat when he became secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1988, during the first President Bush's term. At the time, HUD was rocked in an influence-peddling scandal in what's known as the Sec. 8 "mod rehab" program. If the program doesn't sound familiar (it provided subsidies to help finance rehab of private affordable rental housing), it's because Kemp shut it down when he came on board because of problems in how some funds were awarded.
What was impressive about Kemp, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, was his ability to address HUD's problems at the time decisively and then move on to a positive agenda of promoting homeownership for those for whom it made sense. Among his critics were some rental housing providers who felt he put too much emphasis on homeownership, yet during his term he led the creation of a major program for replacing obsolete public rental housing with housing that incorporated new lessons on what makes for good housing.
Naturally even this effort had detractors. Among other things, the new housing couldn't be built quickly enough to replace the old housing, so some in the industry would have preferred he focus on fixing up the old housing, despite it flaws.
There was a lot of debate back and forth, out of which grew new programs after Kemp had left. The HOME Investment Partnerships program was one of them; it provides block grants to states and localities to use with low-income housing tax credits and other programs to create new affordable housing.
It's remarkable the number of major programs that were created when Kemp was secretary and also immediately afterward, when former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros was HUD secretary. Kemp was a low-tax, supply-side enthusiast who was passionate about weeding our housing discrimination and creating opportunity for all. Whatever you think of his political philosophy, he was a secretary who understood the importance of housing and the primacy of private property rights and the entrepreneurial spirit that drives innovation.
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