Senator Murray Announces Major Federal Investments in Affordable Housing Across Washington State

Communities from Seattle to Spokane and Bellingham to Walla Walla to receive nearly $100 million combined in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program awards

The bulk of these awards come from Community Development Block (CDBG) Grants and the HOME program, which Senator Murray successfully fought to protect

Despite the success of these programs, President Trump has again proposed eliminating them in his recent budget request

Senator Murray: “I’m glad to see this vital federal funding go towards helping more Washington state families have access to a safe, stable, and secure home”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced housing awards totaling more than $95 million for cities and counties across Washington state. The federal investments come largely 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 will also be funded through the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, which provides critical stable housing for people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and their families, as well as the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, which funds rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention efforts.

“The housing crisis is a critical problem for so many in our state, so I’m glad to see this vital federal funding go towards helping more Washington state families have access to a safe, stable, and secure home,” Senator Murray said. “Despite President Trump’s efforts to zero-out these crucial programs, I’ll keep fighting to ensure that the federal government is a partner to local communities in Washington state and across the country as they work to combat housing insecurity.”

In total, $58,689,830 was awarded through the CDBG program, $27,231,939 through the HOME program, $4,963,794 through the ESG program, and $4,146,100 through the HOPWA program. The funding from these grant programs is distributed on a formula basis.

See a full breakdown of federal awards going to Washington state below.

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 in 2015, but successfully protecting that funding from attacks by the Trump Administration and increasing funding for each program by $100 million in the fiscal year 2020 spending agreement. In his most recent budget plan President Trump again proposed eliminating the programs entirely.

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