Report Says 200 Housing Agencies Regularly Bounced Checks; HUD Monitoring 'Inadequate'
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
By Christopher Neefus

(CNSNews.com) - The Government Accountability Office published a June report that found 200 federal housing agencies were regularly writing bad checks of $25,000 or more between 2002 and 2006.

Nearly three-quarters of them had passed a test monitoring their fiscal well-being, but the test isn't designed to determine if housing agencies are mismanaging their funds or using them inappropriately, the GAO said..

The report urges the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to overhaul its oversight mechanisms to better identify at-risk housing agencies.

"Our analysis . . . found that 200 housing agencies had written checks that exceeded the funds available in their bank accounts (bank overdrafts) by $25,000 or more,â€