Where Is Simons?

Procrastination by the White House in naming a director to run HUD's multifamily restructuring program is raising concerns on Capitol Hill that the whole restructuring effort could be in jeopardy."We are extremely irritated. And this concern is going to be expressed to HUD," said an aide to Sen. Connie Mack, R, Fla., who chairs the Senate banking subcommittee on housing. By statute, the restructuring program cannot start on Oct. 1 unless the president has nominated a director to run the Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring, which will manage and oversee the restructuring of thousands of FHA-insured multifamily projects with Section 8 rent subsidies. President Clinton's nomination of Larry Simons, a former FHA commissioner, has been expected for several months. But the delay is getting serious now. HUD intends to issue interim rules for the restructuring program in the next week or two. And the Internal Revenue Service recently issued a favorable ruling that removes the tax consequences of restructuring the FHA mortgages. The restructuring program is "presumably ready to go," Sen. Mack's aide said. "So this is extremely disturbing. And it is kind of mystifying, because Simons' name has been at the White House for months."