Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa continues his oversight of the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), a $9.6 billion program that began in 2010 to help homeowners who suffered during the housing crisis. Wasteful spending of these funds by state agencies persisted unchecked for many years of the Obama Administration, and the need for accountability remains. In a continuation of Grassley’s request to audit state agency expenses, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) is reviewing state agency spending on travel, conferences and other administrative spending. Grassley has long found these areas ripe for spending abuse. Grassley made the following comment on this development.
“It’s clear from previous reports that state agencies helped themselves to a healthy portion of taxpayer dollars meant for struggling homeowners. They spent money on restaurant meals, employee gifts and a $500 per month company Mercedes from the fund. The state of Georgia was found to have badly mismanaged the program, leaving scores of struggling homeowners behind. Auditing travel and conference spending is yet another part of the picture that the American people and Congress need to see.”
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