HUD Recovery Funds Create Nearly 9,000 Jobs

RecoveryrnAct funds dispersed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developmentrn(HUD) have created nearly 9,000 new jobs in the last year and improved orrnrehabilitated 150,000 low income homes. According to HUD Secretary ShaunrnDonovan, over 3,100 public housing authorities have met the funding deadlinernfor receiving nearly $3 billion in funds authorized through the AmericanrnReinvestment and Recovery Act and have used those monies to make significantrnimprovements to public housing units. Under the rules accompanying the awards,rnfunds had to be “obligated” to specific projects or activities withinrnone year or return to HUD for redistribution to other agencies.  The deadline was March 17.

Today Donovan said “”Strict deadlines,rnsuch as this one, were written into the Recovery Act to ensure that funds wouldrnbe used to meet the top goal of putting Americans back to work as quickly asrnpossible.  I am proud of the work HUD andrnpublic housing authorities across the country did to meet this criticalrndeadline. It speaks to the commitment they have to improve affordable housingrnand grow local economies. Families and communities are already seeing newrnwindows, roofs, cost-saving energy-efficient appliances, and much-neededrnjobs.”

HUD disbursed the $3 billionrnthrough Public Housing Capital Fund grants.  Under Section 3 of the long-standing Housingrnand Urban Development Act, state and local governments that receive funding fromrnthe Capital Fund in excess of $200,000 are required to document how those fundsrnare used to hire low income individuals and residents of public housingrnprojects.  Earlier this month, HUDrnannounced that three out of four of agencies receiving funds had filed suchrnreports. Capital Fund money can be used to make large-scale improvements such as new roofs and forrnthe replacement of plumbing and electrical systems to increase energyrnefficiency.

HUD reported that, to date,rnthe recovery act funding, which was intended to help jumpstart the economy inrnwhat it called “the worst recession in a generation” had been used onrna local basis to address the long-standing capital needs of public housing andrnto create energy efficiency as well as to create new jobs and retain existingrnones.

The $3rnbillion was allocated by HUD on last March within 30 days of the signing of thernRecovery Act, using the Capital Fund's long established formula.  The Recovery Act funds more than doubledrnHUD's annual support of local housing authorities.  Of the $2.985 billion that was awarded torn3,134 public housing agencies, $2.981 billion was obligated by the deadline andrn$3.25 million was voluntarily returned to HUD which is working on itsrnredistribution. 

HUD saidrnthat 172 of the housing authorities receiving funding had been designated byrnHUD as “troubled” but that all of those also met the deadline withrntwo returning all or a portion of their funds.

The $3rnbillion addressed in the current report was a portion of the total of $13.6rnbillion awarded to HUD under the Recovery Act. rnThe Department obligated 75 percent of those funds to state and localrnrecipients within 8 days of President Obama's signing of the law.  The remaining 25 percent is being awardedrnthrough a competitive bid process. HUD said that 98 percent of HUD's share ofrnRecovery Act funds will be used on a local basis to improve housing andrnneighborhoods and to create jobs.

HUDrninvited interested parties to review and track funds that have been spent byrnHUD under the Recovery Act on the Act's website at http://www.hud.gov/recovery.  Funding notices and tracking of futurernperformance of grants can also be reviewed at that URL.

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