As taxpayers, we all fund a program that provides affordable public housing for low-income families.
However, 9 Investigates learned tens of millions of dollars every month are going to residents who don’t qualify for the federal assistance.
And after U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, learned about some of what Channel 9's Vanessa Welch uncovered, he announced plans for a full investigation.
Welch learned that public housing residents are required to do community service or job training every month in exchange for getting help with the rent.
But an audit by the U.S. Office of Inspector General shows the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is handing out $37 million per month in rent subsidies to people who are not doing their part.
“I don’t like that,” said central Florida resident Annette Browdy. “I don’t like that, because I pay a lot of taxes.”
Browdy lived in public housing for three years. She then secured a job and bought herself a home.
She said the required job training and community service motivated her to become self-sufficient.
“They should be checking up on them, making sure they are doing it,” Browdy said.
The government audit revealed HUD was not monitoring community service requirements.
Welch went to several public housing properties in central Florida and conducted her own survey.
She asked many people the same question: “Does anyone ever come around and check if you are doing your community service?”
No one would answer her on camera out of fear they would get kicked out. But off camera plenty of people told Welch no one ever checks to make sure they're doing the mandatory eight hours of job training or community service each month.
And that aggravates Browdy. Her daughter has been on the waiting list for a year. She believes she would be living in public housing today if HUD monitored the program more closely.
“There would be no waiting list because people who deserve it would get it,” Browdy said.
The Office of Inspector General spent eight months reviewing housing authorities. The OIG determined that HUD failed to monitor the program at 75 percent of those housing authorities.
But Welch discovered OIG officials never shared the list of problem properties with HUD.
The findings stunned Mica, who said he plans to conduct a congressional hearing and a full investigation.
“Through your work and the disclosure from Inspector General, we will go after this and hopefully we will do a better job or at least see that HUD officials that are responsible do their job,” Mica said before touring an Orlando public housing property.
HUD told 9 Investigates that it is working to make the changes suggested by the auditors and hopes to have them in place by the fall.
It’s important to note that there are exemptions to the community service requirement. If you have a job, are disabled or are over the age of 62, you do not have to do the community service in order to receive the rent subsidies.