Back in the United States, criticism is mounting of outgoing Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson’s handling of the national housing crisis. Jackson is said to have ignored repeated warnings from within his agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, that the rise in subprime mortgages was increasing the risk of home foreclosures. During Jackson’s tenure, foreclosures on government-insured housing loans and default rates have hit a record high. In interviews with the Washington Post, HUD officials revealed Jackson used agency money for perks including a personal chef and a full-time security detail. Jackson’s office also opened a $7 million auditorium and cafeteria at HUD’s headquarters despite calls to use that money for low-income housing. Jackson also solicited an emergency bid for oil portraits of himself and four other HUD secretaries — at a taxpayer cost of $100,000. Housing experts say Jackson will be remembered as so committed to President Bush’s stated goal of increasing homeownership that he brought mortgage risks to new highs.