Leaders in the House and Senate sent letters to HUD Secretary Ben Carson demanding greater urgency in allocating the emergency housing and community development funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chair David Price (D-NC) and Ranking Member Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) sent a letter to Secretary Carson on May 19 urging HUD to take immediate steps to ensure CARES Act funds are promptly disbursed to state and local governments.
The Subcommittee’s leaders demanded information and action from HUD, including “the Department’s timeline for publishing the administrative requirements for HUD’s CARES Act funding; providing grantees with access to CARES Act funding; guidance on coordinating with other Federal funding sources (such as FEMA); and allocating the remaining funds for each of these programs within a week of receipt of this letter.”
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) wrote her own letter to Secretary Carson on May 21 expressing similar consternation regarding the lag in funding allocation. Senator Feinstein noted she was “alarmed to learn that nearly two months after the CARES Act was signed into law, less than half of the $9 billion provided to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs has been awarded, and less than one percent of this funding has actually been made available for use.”
Read Chair Price and Ranking Member Diaz Balart’s letter at: https://bit.ly/3et8Q3X
Read Senator Feinstein’s letter at: https://bit.ly/36BfRgi