Karen Bass office claims she's 'not available' to testify at House hearing on LA homelessness agency

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ office has told a House Oversight Committee subcommittee that the Democrat politician will not be testifying at an upcoming hearing regarding the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), and its allocation of federal funds to various NGOs and non-profits in the area. 

In the letter to subcommittee chair Tim Burchett, counsel for Bass, David Michaelson, wrote, “the Mayor appreciates the importance of these issues, and she looks forward to working with the Subcommittee.” He later stated, however, that “unfortunately, the mayor is not available” for the September 15 hearing. 

The letter continued on to “clarify the Mayor’s role with LAHSA,” saying that “the Subcommittee’s letter does not accurately reflect her or the City’s relationship with LAHSA.”

“LAHSA is not a department of the City of Los Angeles. It is an independent government agency formed in 1993 by the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles pursuant to California’s Joint Powers Act. Indeed, LAHSA’s service area goes well beyond the City of Los Angeles and includes 85 other cities and unincorporated areas of the County.” 

“LAHSA has its own executive leadership team and staff who are responsible for day-to-day operations, budget, and administration,” the letter continued. “The Mayor does not control LAHSA’s operation, budget, or administration. The Mayor is one of ten members of the LAHSA commission, five of whom are appointed by members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with the other five appointed by the Mayor.”

It added that “the City is preparing a transition plan in which the City becomes the sole or primary administrator of the City’s homelessness system.”

“Federal funds must be spent appropriately and responsibly, and the Mayor has prioritized effective homeless services including her signature interim housing program, Inside Safe. Contrary to the letter’s statement that ‘the problem has grown worse during [her] tenure as mayor,’ Mayor Bass’ efforts have resulted in an 11 percent decrease in street homelessness since she took office, including the first decrease in many years.” 

The letter also noted that in previous correspondence from the subcommittee, it stated that “HUD is investigating LAHSA and suspended federal funding to LAHSA, but fails to note that the US District Court recently enjoined the suspension and found that HUD’s actions were ‘arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.’” 

The move from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) came after it accused LAHSA of repeated false statements, financial mismanagement, weak internal controls, and failures to maintain safeguards against conflicts of interest. 

HUD said the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, led by LAHSA, has received nearly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars over the last five years while Los Angeles has remained the center of the nation’s homelessness crisis. Federal officials alleged that LAHSA could not determine whether funding had been used to pay for empty hotel rooms, failed to provide documentation verifying nearly 2,300 housing sites, and did not have its own written conflict-of-interest policy until September 2025, despite certifying compliance with federal rules.

The notice from HUD cited conflict-of-interest concerns involving LAHSA’s former CEO, who resigned after she and the agency allegedly violated federal rules by committing more than $2 million in federal funds to her husband’s employer.