Archives

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) approved the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016, which includes provisions that will promote improvements to our drinking water infrastructure and support U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in Rhode Island championed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. The bill now moves to the full Senate

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is making $37.3 million available to fight housing discrimination under HUD's 2016 Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Notice of Funding Availability(NOFA). This year's three funding notices support a variety of important fair housing activities, including fair housing testing in the rental and sales market, public education efforts, capacity building, and education and outreach activities.

Through loans, grants and tax credits, legislation would inject more than $70 billion in the next 10 years into water infrastructure and lead relief programs. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell supported the Testing, Removal and Updated Evaluations of Lead Everywhere in America for Dramatic Enhancements that Restore Safety to Homes, Infrastructure and Pipes Act of 2016, or True LEADership Act (S.2821), a comprehensive plan that recommits the federal government to a critical role in water infrastructure investment, lead remediation and the strong drinking water protections provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $9.9 million in “sweat equity” grants to produce at least 541 affordable homes for low-income individuals and families. Funded through HUD’s Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), the funding awarded today, along with the labor contributed by these households, will significantly lower the cost of homeownership.

In an effort to help young people involved in the justice system find jobs and housing, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced $1.75 million for Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and nonprofit legal service organizations to address the challenges justice-involved individuals face when trying to find work and a place to call home. The grantees are listed below.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is soliciting applications for grants to establish broadband in unserved rural communities through its Community Connect program. Community Connect is administered by USDA's Rural Utilities Service and helps to fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not economically viable for private sector providers to provide service

The Jackson Housing Authority (JHA) will be able to assist an additional 35 families with the help of $250,000 in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant funds from BankPlus and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas).

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today the award of $784,421 in Specially Adapted Housing Assistive Technology (SAHAT) Grants to eligible individuals, researchers, and organizations to develop new technologies that would enhance Veterans and Servicemembers’ ability to live in specially adapted homes. The SAHAT Grant Program was authorized by Congress to design assistive technologies to expand home modification options for Veterans who apply for VA’s Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) benefit. Grants of up to $200,000 have been issued to four selected grantees.

About 75 Consumers Energy employees are giving their time this week to ensure that Flint residents have clean water to drink, part of an ongoing effort this year by the company to help the Michigan community.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced nearly $14 million in grants to 32 states, commonwealths and territories for projects to suppo

The Urban Land Institute (ULI), a global research and education institute dedicated to responsible land use and building thriving, sustainable communities, has been awarded an $250,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation to support a new initiative, Creative Place Making in Communities in America. Through this program, the Institute will examine how to revive declining urban areas such as obsolete commercial corridors through innovative place making that transforms soulless clusters of underutilized space into thriving, vibrant destinations.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro today awarded $1.6 billion in grants to provide funding to 6,400 local homeless housing and service programs across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. View a complete list of all the state and local homeless projects awarded funding.

State, county, and local officials joined Community Investment Strategies, Inc. (CIS) for a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil Heritage Village at Bloomfield – an 82-apartment affordable 55-plus housing community in Bloomfield, Essex County that serves seniors on a fixed income.

The U.S. Department of Labor Veterans Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS) has announced the availability of Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program funding of $13 million to provide an estimated 6,000 veterans with job-driven training for in-demand jobs to help them successfully transition from homelessness to sustainable housing and good civilian jobs. Homeless veterans may receive occupational, classroom, and on-the-job training, as well as job search and placement assistance, including follow-up services.

18F, the team of digital technology consultants housed within the General Services Administration, today announced plans to expand its consulting and acquisition services to assist federal agencies that provide grants to state and local programs. Since its launch in March 2014, 18F has grown from 15 to 165 people and helps federal agencies build, buy, and share efficient and easy-to-use digital services. 18F will partner with federal agencies providing grants to state and local programs to offer them the same best practices of human-centered, agile, and modular design.

Seven low-income families in the St. Tammany West area of Louisiana will now have an affordable place to call "home," thanks in part to a $45,500 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from Home Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas). Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West (HFHSTW) received the grant in 2015, which was used to assist HFHSTW families with their down payments. The homes are currently under construction and will be completed this year.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced it is making $40 million in grants available to support hundreds of housing counseling organizations across the country that assist families, including those buying their first home, struggling to locate affordable rental housing or seeking to avoid foreclosure. 

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and Southside Bank have awarded a $14,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant to Habitat for Humanity of Smith County (HFHSC). The funds will help pay for the construction of two new homes in Tyler

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced the availability of funds for supportive services grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. Applications for supportive services grants under the SSVF Program must be received by the SSVF Program Office by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 5, 2016.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a bill that would give the District of Columbia exclusive authority, like states, to grant clemency for criminal convictions under its laws. While D.C. law appears to give the mayor authority to grant clemency (D.C. Code 1–301.76), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opined that the mayor’s clemency authority, if any, is very narrow, and that the President of the United States has authority to grant clemency in all D.C. criminal cases and exclusive authority for D.C. felonies.