Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following on Friday:
Bellingham, Spokane County,
Vancouver, and Walla Walla to receive a combined $9 million in
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program awards
These awards come from
Community Development Block (CDBG) Grants and the HOME program, which
Senator Murray fought to protect funding for in 2015
Senator Murray: Federal grants a “helping hand” for people across WA facing housing insecurity
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator
Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, joined local leaders in celebrating the announcement of more
than $9 million dollars in housing awards for Spokane County and the
cities of Bellingham, Vancouver and Walla Walla. The funding comes from
two Department of Housing and Urban Development grant programs—the
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and the HOME
program—which fund the acquisition and construction of secure,
affordable housing for people and families in need. The awards include
more than $1.3 million for the city of Bellingham, more than $2.2
million for Spokane County, nearly $1.9 million for the city of
Vancouver, and nearly $400,000 for the city of Walla Walla.
“Programs like CDBG and HOME provide more
than federal grants—these investments are a vital helping hand for
families facing housing insecurity in Washington state and across our
country,” Senator Murray said, “That’s why time and again
I’ve fought to save and strengthen these critical programs, to combat
the growing crisis of homeless across our state and to help ensure
quality housing for those that need it most. I’m excited to see what
communities across our state are able to accomplish with this funding.”
See a full breakdown of federal awards going to Washington state below.
State
|
Grant
|
Recipient
|
Amount
|
WA
|
CDBG
|
BELLINGHAM
|
$ 805,312
|
WA
|
HOME
|
BELLINGHAM
|
$ 511,743
|
WA
|
CDBG
|
SPOKANE COUNTY
|
$ 1,583,493
|
WA
|
HOME
|
SPOKANE COUNTY
|
$ 687,374
|
WA
|
CDBG
|
VANCOUVER
|
$ 1,240,677
|
WA
|
HOME
|
VANCOUVER
|
$ 646,431
|
WA
|
CDBG
|
WALLA WALLA
|
$ 394,643
|
As a senior member of the Senate subcommittee
responsible for housing appropriations, Senator Murray has been
instrumental in continuing the CDBG and HOME programs, fighting not only
to save the HOME program from near elimination, but successfully
working to increase its funding in a 2015 spending bill and protect that
funding from attacks from the Trump Administration in spending bills
over the past two years. The funding from these grant programs is
distributed on a formula basis.
Local leaders joined Senator Murray in applauding these vital awards.
“This is great news for Spokane,” said Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, “We
have an affordable housing crisis and these Federal dollars will help
us alleviate the housing issues that many people are experiencing right
now. We’re grateful to our Federal legislators for all they do to help
us locally.”
“This annual entitlement grant is
essential for providing a wide range of services for our community, from
supporting our local homeless shelter for kids to Meals On Wheels for
seniors,” Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville said, “These
funds help our community leverage our Bellingham Housing Levy and other
funding by up to twenty times, and it’s crucial in making our local
projects viable. We are so happy to be receiving additional funding this
year, and thanks to Sen. Murray for always being an advocate for our
community.”
“We are so pleased to hear about this award,” said Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle,
“CDBG and HOME funds are used throughout our community to make a
lasting difference in the lives of some of our most vulnerable
residents.”
For a full list of awardees, more info available HERE.
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