After Congressional Hearing Exposes Failures at Indianapolis Housing Agency, Hornedo Calls for Federal Leadership and Releases Housing Plan

Calls on Rep. Carson to publicly address IHA crisis and outline concrete reform steps

Tuesday, February 17​

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Indianapolis, IN — Following a congressional hearing exposing severe mismanagement at the Indianapolis Housing Agency (IHA), congressional candidate George Hornedo today called for immediate accountability and released Make Housing Affordable, a comprehensive plan to address Indianapolis’ growing housing crisis.

 

During testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, state officials described unsafe living conditions at Lugar Tower and other IHA properties, including broken elevators, lack of hot water, security failures, pest infestations, and long-standing oversight breakdowns.

 

“When residents of public housing are living without hot water, elevators, or basic safety, that’s a failure,” Hornedo said. “This hearing made clear that Indianapolis families deserve federal leadership that doesn’t look away.”

 

Hornedo called on Congressman André Carson to publicly address the IHA crisis and outline specific steps he will take to ensure stronger federal oversight and measurable reform.

 

“Housing authorities don’t operate in a vacuum,” Hornedo said. “Congress has an oversight role. The people of Indianapolis deserve to know what their representative is doing to fix this.”

 

A Broader Housing Emergency

The IHA crisis comes amid deeper affordability pressures across Marion County:

 

• Over 31% of households are cost-burdened

• The region under-builds roughly 1,750 affordable units annually

• Entry-level home listings have collapsed by 87% since 2014

• Indianapolis ranked 5th nationally in eviction filings in 2023

 

“This isn’t just about one agency,” Hornedo said. “It’s about a system that is failing renters, seniors, working families, and first-time buyers.”

 

A Federal Leadership Model That Delivers Results

Hornedo’s Make Housing Affordable plan reframes the role of a Member of Congress as a coordinator and catalyst aligning federal funding, state reform, and local implementation.

 

“A Congressman can’t rewrite zoning laws,” Hornedo said. “But they can unlock federal resources, force coordination, and push every level of government to actually deliver.”

 

The plan includes:

 

Federal Action

 

• Guaranteeing Housing Choice Vouchers so every eligible family receives assistance

• Expanding Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and workforce housing incentives

• First-generation homebuyer assistance of up to $15,000

• Strengthening FHA lending and refundable homebuyer tax credits

• Investment in community land trusts and nonprofit housing developers

 

State-Level Pressure

 

• Advocating repeal of Indiana’s 2021 tenant preemption law

• Supporting creation of a state housing trust fund

• Strengthening eviction protections and property tax relief

• Incentivizing zoning reforms to increase supply

 

Local Coordination

 

• Fast-track permitting for affordable housing

• Use of city-owned land for development

• Expansion of eviction prevention and tenant legal support

• Scaling home-repair and stabilization programs

 

Accountability and Measurable Outcomes

The plan sets clear benchmarks:

 

• Reduced cost-burdened households

• Increased homeownership among Black and Hispanic families

• Expanded affordable supply

• Lower eviction rates

• Transparent performance tracking

 

“Housing didn’t break overnight and it won’t be fixed overnight,” Hornedo said. “But what we can’t accept is drift. Indianapolis deserves a representative who treats housing as a systems problem to be solved and not as someone else’s problem.”

 

The full Make Housing Affordable memo is available HERE.