Patenaude One Step Closer to Top Hud Job
By Dennis Mayer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 – A New Hampshire woman came one step closer Tuesday to assuming a top post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Pamela Hughes Patenaude, a former Bedford resident whom President Bush has nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development, testified that she would work with Congress to help end homelessness and encourage home ownership in a hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
“I am committed to continuing HUD’s work that will one day make the American Dream equally accessible to all,” she said in a prepared statement to open her testimony. “I share the President’s commitment to homeownership, because I too believe that ownership is the key to stronger, healthier communities and financial independence.”
Two members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation, Sen. John Sununu and Rep. Jeb Bradley, were present for the hearing, and both spoke glowingly of Patenaude’s abilities.
“Pam has brings great experience to this job and this opportunity,” said Sununu, who sits on the committee.
Sen. Judd Gregg was unable to attend the hearing, but Sununu said he conveyed Gregg’s support for Patenaude as well as his own.
After the hearing, Sununu said that Patenaude’s appointment would be “great for HUD and community development efforts across the entire country.”
In a short statement to the committee, Bradley said that his office had vetted Patenaude and found her to be an “exceptional” nominee.
“I’m thrilled to be here,” Bradley said before the hearing. “She’s a great candidate.”
Bradley added that he’d been assured that the committee would work to have Patenaude’s nomination confirmed by the Senate as soon as possible.
After her statement, Patenaude fielded questions from committee members, but her nomination was clearly not controversial or contested.
Patenaude’s nomination will now go to the Senate floor, where senators will vote to confirm it. Cathy MacFarlane, a HUD spokeswoman, said she was not sure whether the Senate would vote on Patenaude’s nomination before Congress recesses for the general election.
