Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Memphis Housing Authority's (MHA) use of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds, focusing on: (1) MHA's receipt of funds from HUD's Comprehensive Grant, HOPE VI, and Public Housing Drug Elimination programs from fiscal year (FY) 1994 through fiscal 1998; and (2) a comparison of MHA's draw down of funds from these programs with that of three other public housing authorities that are similar in the number of housing units they manage and the amount of Comprehensive Grant, HOPE VI, and Public Housing Drug Elimination funds that they receive from HUD.

GAO noted that: (1) from FY 1994 through fiscal 1998, HUD awarded MHA about $64.5 million in Comprehensive Grant funds, about $52.7 million in HOPE VI funds, and about $8.6 million in drug elimination funds, for a total of about $126 million; (2) of the Comprehensive Grant and HOPE VI funds awarded to MHA from FY 1994 through fiscal 1998, the authority drew down a smaller proportion of funds than the other three public housing authorities by the end of fiscal 1999; (3) for example, MHA drew down 50 percent of the Comprehensive Grant funds and 17 percent of HOPE VI funds awarded during this period; (4) in contrast, the three other housing authorities--on average--drew down 74 percent of their Comprehensive Grant and 39 percent of their HOPE VI awards; and (5) of the drug elimination funds awarded to MHA from FY 1994 through fiscal 1998, the authority drew down a proportion of funding similar to that of the three other authorities by the end of fiscal 1999.