HUD nominees heard today in committee

While the Roberts confirmation hearings dominated the news today, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs was holding its own confirmation hearings on nominees to fill vacant positions at HUD and in the Commerce Department. The HUD nominees are: Keith E. Gottfried, to be General Counsel; Kim Kendrick, to be Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity; Keith A. Nelson, to be Assistant Secretary for Administration, and Darlene F. Williams, to be Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.

If the four HUD nominees are confirmed, that will leave three additional White House-appointed positions vacant on the HUD principal staff. The vacant positions are: Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing; Chief Financial Officer, and president of Ginnie Mae.

Orlando Cabrera, formerly of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, was nominated Aug. 18 to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. Mr. Cabrera has disaster recovery experience and during his work in Florida made a priority of extending tax credit housing assistance to lower-income tenants. See our brief online coverage here and also our print-edition interview with Mr. Cabrera beginning on p. 71 of the October 2004 AHF.