HuffPost: Elizabeth Warren To Grill Trump Housing Nominee On Rents, Shell Companies

Rent price-fixing by computer algorithms and keeping real estate from being used for money laundering through shell companies are two issues that Scott Turner, the former professional football player picked to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, will likely face at this committee confirmation hearing Thursday.

In a lengthy 13-page letter to Turner on Sunday obtained by HuffPost, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, laid out several areas she wants to hear more about when Turner appears before her committee for his confirmation hearing.

In her letter, Warren said there was “little in the public record” about Turner’s housing policy views and Turner should show up prepared to answer her questions.

Turner played seven seasons in the NFL through the 2003 season as a cornerback after playing collegiately at the University of Illinois. Later he served in the Texas state legislature. While his pick by President-elect Donald Trump was reportedly a surprise to many housing experts, he was the executive director of a White House interagency council in the first Trump administration tasked with overseeing Opportunity Zones, areas targeted for economic development through tax breaks.

In her letter, Warren asked for Turner’s views on rental price-fixing, citing the ongoing case against RealPage Inc., a company whose software the Department of Justice has alleged has been used by landlords to illegally set rental prices in violation of antitrust law. RealPage is fighting the case in court.

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Read the full story here.

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