WASHINGTON DC [3/21/25] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1) led Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representatives Adam Smith (WA-9), Suzan DelBene (WA-1), Val Hoyle (OR-4), Andrea Salinas (OR-6), and Maxine Dexter (OR-03) in demanding that the Trump administration abandon plans to close the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s field office in Portland and regional office in Seattle.
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to close a majority of HUD offices across the country, including the offices in Portland and Seattle. This move would be especially harmful to Region X, which includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The members noted that federal law requires HUD to maintain an office in every state, and that closing the offices in Portland and Seattle would mean the nearest HUD office will be in San Francisco, CA, more than 650 miles from Portland and 850 miles from Seattle.
“We know how devastating it can be when services are moved out of state and implore you to keep the Seattle regional office and Portland field office open,” the Members wrote. “The Pacific Northwest is already experiencing a significant housing shortage. The closure of these regional and field offices would significantly hinder the ability of state agencies, public housing authorities, community-based organizations, and private developers and landlords to develop new housing and address this housing crisis.”
The Members of Congress explained that regional staff have the expertise needed to meet local needs and are essential to provide vital services and technical assistance with mortgage assistance, affordable housing developments, fair housing claims, and more.
“Field offices are the most direct touchpoint to navigate the complexities of federal housing assistance programs by providing eviction prevention assistance and other housing quality services to individuals and families with few or no other options,” the Members wrote. “The closure of these offices would result in undue risk for our constituents.”
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Dear Secretary Turner:
We write to you with deep concern about recent reports indicating that your agency may plan to close a majority of its field and regional offices across the country. Specifically, we are concerned about the reported plan to close the regional office in Seattle, WA, and the field office in Portland, OR, which would leave our constituents without any support. Given the immense benefit these offices provide across the region, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) statutory responsibility to maintain an office in every state and to thoroughly analyze and publicly report on the impacts of any field office closures on costs, the local economy, and service delivery , we urge you to retain HUD’s footprint by keeping these offices open.
Field office staff serve as primary points of contact who have both specialized expertise in housing assistance programs and an understanding of the local context. HUD field staff help communities problem solve, navigate administrative challenges, and respond to urgent needs and emergencies. Those staff are best able to perform these duties when they have a deep understanding of the local market and strong relationships with local partners. Should HUD decide to move forward with the planned closures, the nearest HUD office will be in San Francisco, CA, more than 650 miles from Portland and 850 miles from Seattle. These closures would have devastating effects on our communities as many projects currently in development would be delayed and specific program expertise lost.
Regional and field offices provide a range of vital services and technical assistance to our constituents and the federal government, including processing applications for mortgage insurance for single-family homes, affordable housing developments, and other facilities. Regional and field offices also assist individual tenants, landlords, and municipalities with housing properties and resolve fair housing claims. Field offices are the most direct touchpoint to navigate the complexities of federal housing assistance programs by providing eviction prevention assistance and other housing quality services to individuals and families with few or no other options. The closure of these offices would result in undue risk for our constituents.
Housing stakeholders, including community members, State and local governments, Public Housing Authorities, and Housing Finance Agencies, also rely on HUD field offices to provide support for a wide range of needs and help navigate administrative challenges. For Public Housing Authorities, HUD field offices are the first point of contact for HUD concerns, support communities when disasters strike, and conduct environmental review of projects to determine if the project meets federal, state, and local environmental standards. For Housing Finance Agencies, HUD field offices are invaluable in bringing partners to the table to work together to provide financing and other services for multifamily affordable housing. HUD field offices have also been important to facilitating and supporting place-based community partnerships, like Promise Zones, EnVision Centers, and Opportunity Zones.
We know how devastating it can be when services are moved out of state and implore you to keep the Seattle regional office and Portland field office open. In past years, HUD moved to transfer all of Oregon’s Multifamily Section 8 work to the regional office in San Francisco. This decision hurt the state’s ability to execute Multifamily Section 8 work, and Portland’s field office lost significant capacity to work through challenges. The Pacific Northwest is already experiencing a significant housing shortage. The closure of these regional and field offices would significantly hinder the ability of state agencies, public housing authorities, community-based organizations, and private developers and landlords to develop new housing and address this housing crisis.
We request that you reevaluate any consideration of closure of field offices across the country and urge you to keep the Portland field office and Seattle regional office open. If these closures are under consideration, we ask that you explain why your agency is considering closing these offices, adhere to all statutory requirements to assess and publicly report on impacts before any staff changes are made, and respond to the concerns we raised about the lack of access to services that would result from any closures. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. We stand ready to work with you to keep these important services accessible to our constituents, and we look forward to receiving a response from you no later than Thursday, April 3, 2025.
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