Ben Carson Looks to Add Secretary of Housing to His Resume

WASHINGTON -- Dr. Ben Carson's resume is quite impressive: world-famous neurosurgeon, best-selling author and former presidential candidate.

He now hopes to add secretary of Housing and Urban Development to his list of accomplishments and must convince some skeptical senators in order to do so. 

Some have accused Carson, who grew up in Detroit's inner city, of lacking empathy when it comes to the poor.  

"You stated that 'poverty is more than a choice' than anything else. You proposed that every federal agency should trim their budgets with a ten-percent across the board year over year," charged Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. 

"I think of that more as a meat ax, not a neurosurgeons knife," Menendez continued.   

"I think the program is essential," Carson replied. 

Carson says HUD programs helping the impoverished wouldn't be cut without an adequate replacement. He also reiterated additional ways to help the needy. 

"True compassion is not keeping people in a situation where we can feel good about what we're doing. True compassion is putting them in a situation where they can feel good about where they're going," Carson explained. 

It's something he told CBN News when we visited him in 2014 at his Florida home. 

"We realize that education is the great divide in this country. Doesn't matter what else is going on in your lives, if you get a good education, you have an excellent opportunity to control the events in your life and not be a victim," Carson said.  

He puts that ideology into action with the Carson Scholars Fund. 
 
Through that program, Dr. And Mrs. Carson have not only sent students to college but provided more than 165 reading rooms to schools across the nation. 

"The dropout rate nationally is between 20-30 percent of those who enter high school and 80 percent of them are functionally illiterate and they can't fill out a job application and they become a drain on society, " explained Carson's wife, Candy. 

Carson supporters say this dedication with his medical experience make him the perfect candidate to lead urban development. 

"People who say that his skills as a world renowned neurosurgeon, who has solved the most complex problems the medical world has ever known, don't transfer to being able to solve problems in HUD simply are wrong," said former Carson press secretary Deana Bass. 

"They can't understand the nuances of being a solutionist, of being a problem solver. Dr. Carson has brought together teams of diverse individuals with different skill sets to solve problems that have never been solved," she continued. 

Carson believes health and housing go hand in hand.  That's why he wants to take on major health issues affecting inner cities, including lead in older homes.

This vast knowledge of the medical world combined with the needs of the housing world could help him add one more accomplishment in his life's mission to help others.