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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 66 September 2025 J O U R N A L evidence-based solutions to addressing this crisis like Housing-First and instead doubles down on the type of criminaliza- tion and policing that have consistently proven unsuccessful. At a time when more than 771,000 people are sleeping on the streets on any given night, this latest move—paired with Trump and Republi- cans' latest action to cut funding for cru- cial housing and basic needs programs— will only worsen an already devastating crisis. We must abandon inhumane and expensive approaches to homelessness that only worsen the problem and rob us of hope for a brighter future. People need homes, not handcuffs; health care, not institutionalization; and above all, compassion, not criminality." The HUD report further revealed that it will continue to carry out the EO's rec- ommendations under Secretary Turner's direction "by encouraging accountability through tangible outcomes, including addressing substance use disorder." According to California Policy Lab data, an estimated 50% of homeless people say that a mental health illness affected their ability to receive housing, and another 51% said that a substance use issue played a role in their housing loss. HUD has provided interim sup- porting funds to prevent homelessness for adolescents aging out of foster care, totaling more than $5 million since January 2025. An estimated 25% of the more than 20,000 young Americans who age out of foster care each year end up homeless within four years, according to the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare. Further, more than an estimated 250,000 veterans have leased a HUD- VASH voucher to date, and more than 89,000 veterans are currently receiving temporary housing through the HUD Veterans' Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, which collabo- rates with the U.S. Department of Veter- ans' Affairs (VA) and community partners to address veteran homelessness. The extension of rental assistance for Native American Veterans was supported by $2.2 million in newly available funding under the Tribal HUD-VASH program, which Secretary Turner announced in April. LEADING CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS URGE HUD TO PRESERVE FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT A group of prominent civil and human rights organizations sent a joint letter to Scott Turner, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), voicing serious concerns about rumors that the agency plans to drop sev- eral compliance actions and fair housing investigations. For victims of housing and lending discrimination, this measure would be disastrous during a fair and affordable housing crisis in the U.S. Per the report, HUD is getting ready to close at least seven significant housing discrimination cases, including three in which the agency had previously discovered that state and local govern- ments under investigation had exac- erbated segregation and concentrated environmental hazards in communities of color, according to a ProPublica report. Both differential treatment and disparate impact discrimination are contested in these cases, including allegations made under the Fair Housing Act's long-stand- ing disparate impact clause. Civil rights leaders caution that such a reversal is not only legally incorrect but would also be detrimental to millions of Americans. "This retreat contradicts settled law, ignores HUD's own regulations and represents a dangerous abdication of the agency's mandate," the groups wrote in the letter. "Reversing or dismissing meri- torious fair housing cases is a dereliction of duty and a violation of sworn commit- ments to uphold and vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act." Intentional discrimination and policies that disproportionately affect protected groups without adequate reason are both expressly forbidden by the Fair Housing Act. In Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Commu- nities Project, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this crucial provision, which is acknowledged by all federal appeals courts and mandates that housing regulations be equitable in both their intent and their implementation. This requirement is upheld by HUD's regulations, and the legislation and agency standards outlined in 24 C.F.R. 100.500 cannot be overridden by an Executive Order. "HUD has no discretion to disregard valid legal complaints," they state. "The Fair Housing Act mandates that HUD investigate all jurisdictional complaints and determine whether reasonable cause exists. Ignoring this duty undermines HUD's obligation to affirmatively further fair housing and violates the statute's core purpose." In order to resolve these pressing issues and guarantee that HUD remains in full compliance with federal law, the groups have also asked to meet with HUD leadership. CFPB SLAMS GAO FOR 'WEAPONIZING' BUDGET LAW, DEFENDS FUNDING CHOICE M ark Paoletta, former General Counsel of the Office of Man- agement and Budget (OMB) under the Trump administration and cur- rent Chief Legal Officer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has offered his opinions on the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) recent statements—and the longtime U.S. attor- ney doesn't seem too pleased. A new Banking Dive report revealed that Paoletta defended Acting Director of the OMB Russ Vought's proposal on February 8 that the bureau get $0 from the Federal Reserve for the fiscal quarter between April and June in a letter to the GAO, saying "the move did not constitute an illegal withholding."