THE BOTTOM LINE - For years, Los Angeles taxpayers have been told the same thing about homelessness: Give us more money. Give us more time. Trust the system. The money came. The results did not. Now Washington wants answers.
The House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency has launched an investigation into potential waste, fraud and abuse involving federal homelessness funds administered through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Mayor Karen Bass has been called to testify before Congress on September 15.
After more than $1 billion in federal funding flowed to LAHSA since 2021, the question is no longer whether Los Angeles spends enough on homelessness. The question is whether taxpayers can see what they received in return.
A Billion-Dollar Question
According to the House Oversight Committee, LAHSA has received more than $1 billion in federal funds since 2021, including approximately $220 million in 2024 alone. Yet more than 45,000 people remain homeless in the City of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles has built an enormous homelessness apparatus involving city and county agencies, LAHSA, contractors and nonprofits. Contracts are awarded. Programs are announced. Taxpayers are repeatedly asked for more.
But tents remain on sidewalks and thousands of homeless Angelenos remain trapped in misery. Government must stop measuring commitment by how much it spends and start measuring success by what that money accomplishes.
Open the Books
Congress is requesting records dating back to January 2020 involving LAHSA’s internal controls, federal funding, and communications among the Mayor’s Office, LAHSA, the City Council and Los Angeles County.
Good. Open the books. Follow the money.
Show taxpayers which organizations received federal dollars, what they promised and what they accomplished. Who approved the contracts? Who monitored performance? Who investigated conflicts of interest? And who was ultimately responsible?
Responsibility is divided among so many agencies and providers that accountability can disappear. When programs succeed, politicians take credit. When they fail, responsibility becomes difficult to locate. Congress should locate it.
Follow the Contracts
The committee points to a $2.1 million contract involving Upward Bound House, where former LAHSA CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum’s husband worked. Adams Kellum had said she recused herself from matters involving the organization, but public records later showed she personally authorized the contract. LAHSA said it had inadvertently ended up before her.
The committee also raised questions about 1736 Family Crisis Center, which it says received more than $36 million in federal grants since 2008, including at least $25 million through LAHSA since 2021. According to the committee, its CEO received approximately $1.6 million in total compensation over two years.
These facts do not automatically establish wrongdoing. But they justify scrutiny. Taxpayers are entitled to know how public money was spent and whether it produced results.
Mayor Bass Should Testify
Mayor Bass should go to Washington, bring the records, and answer the questions.
Not because Congress has established that Bass personally committed wrongdoing. It has not. She should testify because she is mayor and homelessness has been a central priority of her administration.
Bass should explain what her administration knew about LAHSA’s financial controls, what reforms City Hall demanded, how federal dollars were monitored and whether contractors faced measurable performance standards.
If investigators are wrong, she should make that case forcefully. If mistakes were made, acknowledge them. If systems failed, fix them. If wrongdoing occurred, expose it. Los Angeles has everything to gain from transparency.
This Isn’t About Party Politics
The hearing could easily become partisan theater. Republicans will attack Los Angeles. Democrats will defend it. Taxpayers should demand something better.
Forget the party labels. Forget Washington versus California. Follow the money.
A dollar does not become Republican or Democratic after government spends it. It either produced the service taxpayers paid for or it did not. That should be the standard.
The Era of Blank Checks Must End
Accountability is not anti-homeless. Every dollar wasted is a dollar unavailable for housing, mental-health treatment, addiction services, or shelter. Homeless Angelenos deserve a system capable of actually helping them.
Major homelessness contracts should have measurable outcomes. Contractors receiving substantial public funds should face meaningful oversight. Conflicts of interest should trigger review. Poorly performing contracts should be reconsidered or terminated. Taxpayers should be able to see where their money went and what it accomplished.
Show Us the Receipts
Congress should not prejudge the evidence. Neither should Los Angeles. But investigators should ask the uncomfortable questions, examine contracts, trace federal dollars to providers, compare promises with performance and determine whether safeguards failed.
If the money was properly spent, tell the public. If investigators find incompetence, expose it. If they find waste, stop it. If they find fraud, prosecute it.
Los Angeles taxpayers have already done their part. They paid again and again.
Now government must do its part:
Show us the receipts.
After more than $1 billion in federal funding and more than 45,000 people still experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, asking where the money went is not political theater.
It is the billion-dollar question City Hall should have answered long before Congress came knocking.
(Mihran Kalaydjian is a seasoned public affairs and government relations professional with more than twenty years of experience in legislative affairs, public policy, community relations, and strategic communications. A respected civic leader and education advocate, he has spearheaded numerous academic and community initiatives, shaping dialogue and driving reform in local and regional political forums. His career reflects a steadfast commitment to transparency, accountability, and public service across Los Angeles and beyond.)
