HUD Secretary visits Milwaukee to highlight the White House's latest push on affordable housing.

The Biden Administration's top housing official visited Milwaukee Tuesday to highlight the White House's latest push on affordable housing.

U.S. Acting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Adrianne Todman announced $350 million in newly available federal funding for affordable housing.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to reduce housing costs by increasing our nation’s housing supply," Todman said.

Todman made the announcement alongside U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore at the McKinley School Lofts. The former near-west-side schoolhouse, which was converted into affordable housing last year, is an example of the kind of creative housing solution the federal government wants to encourage, Todman said.

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Milwaukee received $2.1 million to support upzoning efforts

During her visit, Todman unveiled a new $250 million block grant program, which will offer low-interest financing for creative housing development projects.

Another grant program, designed to help communities eliminate barriers to housing construction, is offering an additional round of funding to the tune of $100 million, Todman announced.

Earlier this summer, Milwaukee received $2.1 million through that program to help expand its housing supply. The city plans to use the funding to help update its zoning code to allow denser housing development, and to subsidize affordable housing development across the city.

Milwaukee is a popular destination for Biden cabinet members

Todman was the third Biden cabinet member to visit Milwaukee this month, following recent visits from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

Each visit highlighted new local programs — including the new Amtrak Borealis route and a new energy-efficiency rebate — funded by Biden-era federal spending.

With less than 100 days until the election, Biden-Harris surrogates and cabinet members have been making frequent stops in Wisconsin.

In a statement, WisGOP Spokesperson Matt Fisher slammed the administration for rising housing costs: "With Milwaukee residents suffering from skyrocketing rent and unaffordable housing, the only thing they want to hear from the Biden-Harris Administration is a long-overdue apology for making the cost of living unbearable."

Mayor Cavalier Johnson, U.S. Rep Gwen Moore talked housing agenda

Mayor Cavalier Johnson joined Todman and Moore for a roundtable discussion about barriers to homeownership, which was hosted by ACTS Housing, a local nonprofit that supports first-time homebuyers.

New homeowners told Todman about the obstacles they faced as they tried to buy their first home.

Frederika Poe, who recently joined the ACTS Housing staff as its real estate acquisition specialist, said student loan debt has made it difficult for her and other Millennials to become homeowners.

'Troubled' Milwaukee Housing Authority under more federal scrutiny

Todman also took questions about the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, which has come under fire in the past year, as public housing residents have raised concerns about conditions.

In late 2022, HUD inspectors deemed the Housing Authority a "fraud risk," after unexplained variances on its bank balance. HUD is still working closely with the Housing Authority to fix those issues, Todman said.

HUD's top public housing official will be visiting Milwaukee later this week to speak with the mayor, the Housing Authority leadership and public housing residents, Todman said.

Todman declined to answer questions about the Housing Authority's senior leadership, who have been criticized repeatedly by public housing residents and city officials. That question, she said, is up to local leaders.

"I leave it to the (Housing Authority) board," Todman said. "It is the responsibility of the board to hire executive directors of housing authorities."

A decades-long decline in federal funding for public housing has contributed to poor conditions in public housing, Todman said.

"My response to this is yes: Sometimes it's all about leadership, but sometimes people need money," Todman said.