Sen. Cantwell supported increased funding for Community Development Block Grants, HOME and Housing Trust Fund in budget Congress passed in March
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $96,169,295 to five housing programs across the State of Washington.
“The State of Washington’s economy is growing, and we need more affordable housing options. These grants will provide housing infrastructure and services for over 100,000 people in our state,” Sen. Cantwell said.
The funding announced today includes:
- Community Development Block Grants: $57,215,544
- The Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) provide annual grants on a formula basis to states, cities, counties, and insular areas to develop stronger, more resilient communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income people. In 2023, across the country the program helped over 62,000 families through housing activities, 25,500 individuals through job creation or retention, 52,000 people experiencing homelessness through improvements to homelessness facilities, over 5.4 million people through public services, and over 41.8 million people through public improvements. According to the Washington State Department of Commerce, CDBG will be used for rural infrastructure and public services serving approximately 120,000 people from 2020 to 2024.
- HOME Investment Partnerships Program: $24,309,900
- The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is the primary federal tool of states and local governments to produce affordable rental and owner-occupied housing for low-income families. HOME funds a wide range of activities including building, buying, and/or rehabilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership or providing direct rental assistance to low-income people. HOME projects leverage non-federal funds including, in many cases, tax credits for affordable rental housing. In 2023, the program helped create over 13,000 units of housing nationwide and more than 13,000 households were assisted with tenant-based rental assistance through the HOME program, including multiple units in Scriber Place in Edmonds, WA, and multiple units at Pine Villa in Spokane, WA. Another recent HOME grant recipient is Chuck Austin Place, a 41-unit community for formerly homeless veterans and their families in Yakima, WA, that received $1.1 million from HOME funds. In 2021, Sen. Cantwell attended the community’s ribbon-cutting.
- Emergency Solutions Grants: $5,031,257
- Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) provides funds for homeless shelters, assists in the operation of local shelters, and funds related social service and homeless prevention programs. Recipients enable people to quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness. ESG funds may be used for street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing assistance. Annually across the country, ESG connects over 350,000 people to emergency shelter as they transition to permanent housing.?In Washington state, recent recipients of ESG funds have included YWCA South King County Family Shelter, Helen’s Place in Kirkland, and New Futures in Burien, among others.
- Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS: $5,430,503
- The Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) program provides stable and permanent housing assistance and supportive services to low-income people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Over 100,000 households receive HOPWA housing assistance and/or supportive services annually.? In Washington state, 252 households which have at least one person living with HIV/AIDS per year benefit from this program. Of those, approximately 187 are extremely low-income.
- Housing Trust Fund: $4,182,091
- Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is an affordable housing production program that complements existing federal, state, and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness. HTF is a formula-based program for states and U.S. Territories. By law, each state is allocated a minimum of $3 million. State affordable housing recipients will use these funds for eligible activities including real property acquisition, site improvements and development hard costs, related soft costs, demolition, financing costs, relocation assistance, operating cost assistance for rental housing (up to 30% of each grant), and reasonable administrative and planning costs. In 2023 the program helped create over 1,681 units of affordable rental housing for extremely low-income households nationwide. In Washington state, the program’s beneficiaries have included 25 units at Highland Village in Bellevue, 22 units at El Centro Columbia City in Seattle, 29 units at Shiloh Redevelopment in Tacoma, and eight units at Sno Valley Senior Housing in Carnation.
Sen. Cantwell fought to secure funding for the CDBG, HOME, and HOPWA programs this fiscal year. Sen. Cantwell previously signed letters to U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) – Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies – urging increased funding for each of these programs. Sen. Cantwell requested $4.2 billion for the CDBG program; $2.1 billion for the HOME program; and $600 million for the HOPWA program. As a result, these programs received $3.325 billion; $2.1 billion; and $499 million respectively, avoiding steeper cuts faced by other programs during the FY23 budget debate. A full city-by-city breakdown of the municipalities in Washington state that received funding today is available HERE.
Sen. Cantwell is also the leading Senate proponent of a tax package that would significantly boost the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Since 1986, the Housing Credit has paid for 90% of the federally-funded affordable housing construction across the country, and has financed over 3.8 million affordable homes, including more than 100,000 in Washington state.
More information about Sen. Cantwell’s work to include an expansion to the LIHTC program in the bipartisan tax package is available HERE.