Kemp Vows to Root Out HUD Abuses : Praises NAACP, Says He Will Help Gain Opportunity Goals

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp promised today that an investigation into abuses in HUD programs won’t be used as an excuse to gut housing subsidies for low- and moderate-income Americans.

Kemp, in a speech to the annual convention of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, also praised the role of the NAACP in extending the American dream to blacks.

The NAACP, he said, has been the central mover in a two-step process to win equality for minorities. He said the process is half finished.

“Chapter One is a proud part of our country’s history,” the housing secretary said. But he said the United States cannot effectively promote its system as a model for the world until it finishes the next stage--achieving equal economic opportunity as well.

Kemp received three standing ovations from the audience of 3,000.

He vowed to root out all corruption from every level of his scandal-ridden agency and make its programs “work for the people in need, not those motivated by greed.”

He said he is committed to ending all housing bias and red-lining by lenders, and to work for revitalization of inner city neighborhoods, higher earned income tax credit for the poor and accelerated economic development in the black community.

‘Reform Top to Bottom’

“We are going to reform HUD from top to bottom,” Kemp said. “We are going to make our programs work for the people in need, not those motivated by greed. I’m not going to allow it to be used as an excuse to close down the programs. It’s not going to prevent us from doing the thing we need to do, provide housing.”

Congress is investigating accusations of HUD fraud, mismanagement and favoritism.

Kemp used the meeting in Detroit, where a Detroit Free Press series has spotlighted more than 15,000 abandoned buildings, to announce planning for a massive new urban cleanup campaign suggested by NAACP Executive Director Benjamin L. Hooks.

“Take those 15,000 homes and bring them back into the housing stock of Detroit,” Kemp said.

Kemp said Hooks came to his office several days ago to talk about a national version of the “clean-up, paint-up, fix-up” programs common to many communities.

“Well, I agreed that we should start working with Ben Hooks to make this a national project, and right now, I am announcing that the planning for this program will start immediately,” Kemp said.