We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) compliance with obligation deadlines and progress toward meeting expenditure requirements related to eight programs funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The objectives of our review were to determine whether HUD obligated ARRA funds in accordance with applicable deadlines and to assess HUD’s oversight of grantees’ expenditure of ARRA funds and HUD’s internal requirements.

Our review determined that $1.6 million in Public Housing Capital Fund and Native American Housing Block Grant funds, recaptured after July 21, 2010, must be returned to the U.S. Treasury under the provisions of the Pay it Back Act. Additionally, we found that ARRA monitoring and oversight could be better documented in HUD’s funds control plans.

We recommend that the Office of the Chief Financial Officer ensure that the $1.6 million in recaptured funds is returned to the U.S. Treasury as required by the Pay it Back Act. We also recommend that the Office of the Chief Financial Officer establish and implement procedures to ensure the accuracy and completeness of ARRA funds control plans.