BOND ANNOUNCES ALMOST $4 MILLION IN HOUSING FUNDS HEADED TO MISSOURI
WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 8, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senator Kit Bond, ranking member of the Senate subcommittee that funds America’s housing programs, today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will release almost $4 million in federal funds to Missouri.
“During this time when many are losing their jobs and homes and trying to survive, affordable housing is even more critical than ever,” said Bond, the lead Republican of the Senate Appropriations Committee that funds the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “These funds are an important investment in our communities and will provide many Missouri families with safe and affordable housing.”
Bond announced that HUD will send release $3,112,829 in federal CDBG funds throughout Missouri. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides grants to state and local governments to ensure communities are able to offer safe, affordable housing and create jobs through the expansion and retention of businesses. HUD awarded CDBG funds in the following amounts:
· $854,961 to Columbia
· $225,342 to Florissant
· $320,518 to Jefferson City
· $1,147,976 to Jefferson County
· $249,883 to O’Fallon
· $314,149 to St. Charles
The Senator also announced that HUD will release $653,470 in federal HOME funds to Columbia. The HOME program provides grants to states and local communities– often in partnership with nonprofit organizations – to build, buy or rehabilitate housing that can be rented or sold as well as provide direct rental assistance to people in need of affordable housing.
In addition, Bond confirmed that HUD will release $100,000 in federal funds to the Missouri Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance (RHCDA) through the Community Housing Development Organization Technical Assistance (CHDO TA) program, which provides help to local community-based nonprofit organizations. The funds will help RHCDA effectively produce more affordable housing at the grassroots level.
Earlier this year, Bond won the fight to provide $2 billion to fund low-income housing tax credit projects that have been stalled by the financial credit crisis and whose delay has contributed to the shortage of affordable housing seen across the nation. Bond is the ranking member of the Senate subcommittee that funds our nation’s housing programs and has worked to increase funding for critical programs for our communities’ most vulnerable people.
