28 January 2009

The Cabinet: Housing and Urban Development

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan

Secretary Shaun Donovan

Shaun Donovan was sworn in on January 26, 2009, as the 15th secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD.) Donovan was a commissioner of housing preservation and development in New York City. He also served as a deputy assistant secretary at HUD during the Clinton administration.

His Senate confirmation hearing was held on January 13, 2009. The text of Donovan's prepared testimony (PDF, 21.81KB) is available on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee website.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, established 1965

Mission: To increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing free from discrimination.

Staff: The department has 10,000 employees, most of whom work in 81 field offices throughout the nation.

Duties: The department aims to ensure decent living environments for all Americans. It administers mortgage and loan insurance, grant programs to foster economic development and housing rehabilitation, rental assistance, public and subsidized housing, homeless assistance and fair housing public education and enforcement.

History: The department was created in 1965 by combining existing agencies in older federal departments as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty.

International engagement: The department’s Office of International Affairs coordinates U.S. participation in international conferences related to housing and urban development, sponsors international research and manages housing-related information exchanges with other countries and nongovernmental organizations.

Fun fact: The department’s Federal Housing Administration is the world’s largest mortgage insurer, guaranteeing the mortgages on more than 34 million homes since 1934.

More information: Housing and Urban Development.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)