Subpoena to Be Sought to Make Pierce Testify

A House subcommittee agreed Friday to seek a subpoena for the testimony of former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. after he failed to show up for a long-scheduled appearance in the congressional inquiry into abuses at HUD during his tenure.

“While he may run, he may not hide,” said Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee on housing and employment, which is investigating political favoritism and mismanagement during Pierce’s eight years as HUD chief.

Pierce, who testified voluntarily on May 25, notified the subcommittee Thursday night that he would not appear for scheduled testimony Friday. Pierce said he needed more time to prepare his testimony.

However, Lantos noted that twice before Pierce had received long postponements so that he could prepare for the hearing.

Lantos Charges Betrayal

“I consider Mr. Pierce’s decision not to appear as scheduled to be capricious, deceitful and a betrayal of the good faith in which this subcommittee has dealt with him,” Lantos said.

Rep. Donald E. (Buz) Lukens (R-Ohio), the ranking Republican on the panel, joined in supporting a subpoena for Pierce.

“Not only is ‘Silent Sam’ silent, apparently today he’s also invisible,” Lukens said, referring to the nickname used by some to describe Pierce during his tenure at HUD.

To call attention to Pierce’s failure to appear, the House panel assembled before a vacant witness table, complete with microphones, pitchers of ice water and empty chairs.

Three other subcommittee members joined Lantos and Lukens in supporting the decision to subpoena Pierce for testimony at several future hearings. But, under House rules, the subcommittee cannot vote on the subpoena action until Wednesday.

“The refusal to allow me an additional two weeks’ preparation time, when numerous other witnesses have been granted even longer postponements, simply is unfair,” Pierce said Thursday.

Two Decisions Targeted

But Lantos said that the subcommittee had gone out of its way to be fair to Pierce, agreeing to limit the scope of his scheduled testimony to two controversial decisions during his tenure.

One involved HUD financing for a $15-million housing rehabilitation project in Durham, N.C. Although Pierce said he had no direct role in funding decisions, a former high HUD official has testified that Pierce ordered her to sign off on the Durham project, despite objections of HUD staff aides.

The second issue involves Pierce’s ruling to lift restrictions on DRG Funding Corp., a mortgage broker that had been placed on probation for violating HUD rules in the agency’s coinsurance program. Since then, DRG loans totaling $538 million have gone sour, and the company is the subject of a grand jury investigation.

Pierce said he needs legal counsel because the subcommittee has dropped its “non-adversarial manner.”