Transforming a Federal Agency

Foreword from Former Secretary of HUD, Dr. Ben Carson

When I entered government service as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, I was used to working in a highly efficient and concise environment as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. The two worlds could not have been more different. Although there were many dedicated people working at HUD, the system was hopelessly bogged down by bureaucracy and politics. The financial records were in such disarray that a legitimate government audit had not been possible for several years.

Politics left me without any assistant secretaries for five months and with no deputy secretary for eight months. I knew that job one was getting the fiscal house in order because the correct financial foundation was necessary to support new policies that sought to move away from government dependency to self-sufficiency for the vulnerable citizens we serve.

You haven't heard this story before.

It could be because our lightning-paced media environment doesn't have much interest in good news these days. Or because the subject matter involves a lot of administration and accounting—it is certainly complex. Or it could be that a narrative of such extraordinary reform is so rare in Washington that nobody knew to look for it.

Yes, you haven't heard this story before, but you should have.

It is the story of how a brilliant team of dedicated men and women, led by Irv Dennis, restored fiscal responsibility to the Department of Housing ...