Ben Carson in Ballotpedia.org political website

On Environment: Deregulation includes land use & federal housing policy

Trump made deregulation a key part of his 2016 campaign platform, and Carson noted that deregulation includes federal regulations related to housing policy. In his opening statement, he said, "President-Elect Trump has talked about the importance of deregulation. That applies to housing as well. Overly burdensome housing regulations are bad for everyone and are increasing income inequality. But when land use for local housing supply is less regulated, workers of all skill types will choose to move to the productive locations. Many forms of land use regulation have perpetuated segregation. Complex webs of covenants and zoning ordinances across U.S. cities--in particular for low-density development--superimposed on already highly-segregated neighborhoods, have slowed integration." Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings Jan 13, 2017

On Health Care: There's a strong connection between health and housing

Carson noted that a connection between health and housing would be a key focal point of HUD under his leadership. In his opening statement, he said, "There is a strong connection between housing and health, which is of course my background. Substandard housing conditions such as pest infestation, the presence of lead paint, faulty plumbing, and overcrowding, which disproportionately affect low-income and minority families, lead to health problems such as asthma, lead poisoning, heart disease, and neurological disorders. I can tell you that lead poisoning irreversibly affects brain and nervous system development, resulting in lower intelligence and reading disabilities. I am passionate about health as you may have guessed, and where one lives should not cause health problems. So I look forward to working with HUD's Safe and Healthy Homes program and others on these issues. We cannot have social mobility without a strong healthy foundation in the home." Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings Jan 13, 2017

On Welfare & Poverty: Housing integration is ok, but why must residents solve it?

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) asked Carson to elaborate on his views on HUD's role in implementing the Fair Housing Act. Carson responded, "That act says that we want people who are receiving HUD grants to look around and see if they find anything that looks like discrimination, and then we want them to come up with a solution on how to find the problem. They're not responding to people saying there's a problem, they're saying go and look for a problem and give us a solution. We have people sitting around a desk in Washington, D.C., and deciding how things should be done. I don't have any kind of problem with affirmative action or at least integration, but I do have a problem with people on high dictating it when they don't know anything about what's going on in the area." Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings Jan 13, 2017

On Welfare & Poverty: Ideal is every person in a home; but we don't have the funds

Asked about limits to public assistance programs for low-income Americans, Carson responded, "We have to be cognizant of our fiscal responsibilities as well as our social responsibilities. Would we love to put every single person in a beautiful unit forever? Absolutely, that would be ideal. But don't have the necessary funding. But the other thing that I emphasize is that safety net programs are important, and I would never advocate abolishing them without an alternative." Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings Jan 13, 2017

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