Bass Declines Summons To Capitol Hill Amid Probe Into LA Homeless Spending

LOS ANGELES, CA — Mayor Karen Bass declined to appear at a U.S. House subcommittee meeting Tuesday on alleged "waste, fraud and abuse" of federal funds linked to the troubled Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, describing the proceedings as a "politically-motivated hearing to attack LA."

The U.S. Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency summoned Bass to Capitol Hill for questioning, as well as to provide records dating back to 2020 related to LAHSA's internal controls, federal funding and communications between Bass' office, LAHSA, the City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

In a letter to the subcommittee, Bass' attorney David Michaelson told the panel that the mayor was unavailable for the hearing without elaborating. Michaelson also notified the panel that the mayor's team would work on its request for communications and other documentation.

Bass was instead at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for a project expected to rebuild the fire-damaged Palisades Recreation Center, its surrounding park and other areas encompassing 17 acres. The mayor joined billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who established Steadfast LA, Lakers coach JJ Redick, co-founder of LA Strong Sports, and the LA Department of Recreation and Parks.

The hearing, titled "Fixing Fraud and Failure in Federally Funded Homelessness Services," began with the panel taking testimony from Paul Webster, a Cicero Institute senior fellow and former executive director of the LA Alliance for Human Rights, and Jonathan Choe, a Discovery Institute senior fellow and former KOMO-TV reporter who has covered homelessness.

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, told the California Post that it was a shame Bass refused to show up and answer questions.

"Homelessness has risen in Los Angeles on her watch, and she has overseen a culture of corruption among the nonprofits provided public dollars to address the issue," Burchett said.

Bass, who is facing a challenge from Councilwoman Nithya Raman in the Nov. 3 election, blasted the hearing, saying it is the "latest attack on Los Angeles by the Trump administration and his allies in Congress."

"This administration tried to strip Los Angeles of the funding that helps us get people off the street, a federal judge stopped them. They lost in court, so now they're staging a show instead," Bass said in her statement.

"They've spent the past year and a half coming after this city. They sent federal agents — and the military — into our communities to kidnap our neighbors. They still haven't delivered the disaster relief they promised the families who lost everything in the Palisades. They passed a law that rips health care away from millions of Californians. They tried to gut Head Start and take early education from our kids," the mayor added.

Earlier this month, Bass stepped down as a member of the LAHSA Commission after serving a three-year term. She is expected to announce a new appointment to fill her seat in the future.

"I don't run LAHSA. It's a joint city-county agency, and I was the first mayor in history to sit on its board. But I am the one who changed how this city fights homelessness — moving people indoors, cutting red tape, and bringing street homelessness down since the day I took office. If Washington wanted to help, they wouldn't try to cut our resources," Bass said in her statement.

"Los Angeles will not be bullied. Not by this president, and not by this Congress. I'm going to keep doing my job — cleaning up encampments, getting Angelenos inside, and making LA safer," Bass' statement concluded.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials are investigating LAHSA's use of federal funds stemming from allegations of fraud and widespread mismanagement. LAHSA has received over $1 billion in federal funds since 2021, including $220 million in 2024.

According to annual data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, California has nearly 182,000 homeless people, Burchett said. Los Angeles County has 73,000 homeless people, and the city of Los Angeles has more than 45,000 homeless people, an increase of 3.4% from the year prior.

In June, HUD abruptly suspended further federal funding to LAHSA until officials can show adequate safeguards are in place to protect taxpayer dollars. But last month, a Los Angeles federal judge blocked the decision, finding that the sudden loss of cash would jeopardize housing and services for more than 11,000 people across the region.

U.S. District Judge David Carter's partial preliminary injunction against HUD allows LAHSA access to federal homelessness funding for fiscal year 2026.

Also at stake is nearly $241 million already earmarked for the Los Angeles region by Congress, as well as immediate future funding for homelessness in the next fiscal year.

Carter's injunction was overruled last week by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, creating uncertainty about LAHSA's role and eligibility as the lead agency coordinating housing and homelessness services across Los Angeles County.

By Jose Herrera, City News Service