# Department of Housing and Urban Development 

[Back to Downsizing Government](/downsizing-government) 

##### Blog Posts 

##### [Corporate Welfare and Low-Income Welfare](/blog/corporate-welfare-low-income-welfare) 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

##### [Affordable Housing Testimony](/blog/affordable-housing-testimony) 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

##### [Affordable Housing: Tax Credits vs Deregulation](/blog/affordable-housing-tax-credits-vs-deregulation) 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

### [Timeline: Department of Housing and Urban Development](/downsizing-government-essay/department-housing-urban-development-timeline)

Explore a historical timeline of U.S. housing and urban policy, highlighting major legislation, institutional changes, and the federal role in housing development.

[View Timeline](/downsizing-government-essay/department-housing-urban-development-timeline) 

##### Department of Housing and Urban Development Spending 

[![Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Static Graph](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2025-10/HousingUrbanDevOutlays.png?itok=89rvBn5E)](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government/charts#/selectedIDs=AG008) 

This chart was generated using our [interactive charting tool](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government/charts#/selectedIDs=AG008), which visualizes federal spending data from the Office of Management and Budget’s 2026 presidential budget database.

#### Featured Content 

[![Department of Housing and Urban Development Building (HUD)](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-05/dept-of-housing-and-urban-development-hq%20Cropped.jpg?itok=iOglIW-e)](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government-essay/hud-scandals) 

Study 

### [HUD Scandals](/downsizing-government-essay/hud-scandals) 

By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) 

The department has suffered many management failures, with corruption and cronyism a common occurrence in the executive suites.

[![house for rent](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-07/GettyImages-960624848.jpg?itok=8HA9WZXT)](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government-essay/public-housing-rental-subsidies) 

Study 

### [Public Housing and Rental Subsidies](/downsizing-government-essay/public-housing-rental-subsidies) 

By Howard Husock 

Public housing projects and federal vouchers for low-income renters have proven to be expensive failures.

[![Housing Finance](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-10/GettyImages-1354522901.jpg?itok=4ySb9RcQ)](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government-essay/housing-finance-2008-financial-crisis) 

Study 

### [Housing Finance and the 2008 Financial Crisis](/downsizing-government-essay/housing-finance-2008-financial-crisis) 

By [Lawrence H. White](https://www.cato.org/people/lawrence-white) 

Programs to subsidize home ownership have created large economic distortions and were an important cause of the recent financial crisis.

[![Housing Community](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-10/GettyImages-1492984613.jpg?itok=wSYKbtud)](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government-essay/community-development) 

Study 

### [Community Development](/downsizing-government-essay/community-development) 

By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) 

These programs violate traditional federalism and spend money on properly local and private activities such as museums and parking lots.

[![Housing Tax Credit](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-10/GettyImages-512811956.jpg?itok=k8tafsKj)](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government-essay/low-income-housing-tax-credit-costly-complex-corruption-prone) 

Study 

### [Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Costly, Complex, and Corruption-Prone](/downsizing-government-essay/low-income-housing-tax-credit-costly-complex-corruption-prone) 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) and [Vanessa Brown Calder](https://www.cato.org/people/vanessa-calder) 

The LIHTC gives $9 billion a year in tax credits to developers. The program is complex, prone to abuse, and inflates construction costs.

[![Downsizing Government](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2025-05/Downsizing%20Gov.png?itok=4YAi4cGI)](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government) 

##### About 

The federal government is running huge budget deficits, spending too much, and heading toward a financial crisis. Without a change of direction in Washington, average working families will be faced with large tax increases and a lower standard of living. This project is designed to help policymakers and the public understand where federal spending goes and how to reform each government department. It describes the failings of agencies and identifies specific programs to cut. It also discusses the systematic reasons why government programs are often obsolete, mismanaged, or otherwise dysfunctional.

Please contact Chris Edwards at [cedwards@​cato.​org](mailto:cedwards@cato.org) with questions or comments.

[Information on the data sources for our charts.](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government/charts?showAbout=true)