HUD ANNOUNCES $12 MILLION IN RECOVERY ACT FUNDS TO IMPROVE NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING IN OKLAHOMA
Recovery Act Funds go to Absentee Shawnee, Choctaw, Tonkawa, Wichita, Wyandotte Tribes

OKLAHOMA CITY - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that HUD is awarding grants, totaling $12,332,866 to five Native American communities in Oklahoma to improve housing
and stimulate community development (see below for detailed grant list).

The Native American Housing Block Grant (NAHBG) funds being awarded today are provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). These grants will help Native American tribes improve the quality
of their housing stock, develop viable communities, promote energy efficiency and create jobs.

"I am proud to announce today that, thanks to the Recovery Act, HUD has invested a half billion dollars in Native American and Alaskan communities across the country," said Secretary Donovan. "As I have seen firsthand today, these funds are already at work in some of the hardest hit communities, creating jobs and revitalizing
neighborhoods."

Earlier this year, HUD allocated $255 million in Recovery Act funding to nearly 600 eligible tribes and tribal housing entities. That funding is already being put to work to improve Indian housing. With today's awards, the total
Recovery Act investment for housing and community development in Indian Country is nearly $510 million, which includes the formula and competitive awards.

The grants announced today were awarded competitively from the Native American Housing Block Grant (NAHBG), available for Indian tribes or tribal organizations representing tribes that are eligible to receive Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) funds. These funds can be used to build new housing
and purchase land to support new housing construction. They also can be used to rehabilitate existing housing, including large-scale improvements such as new roofs, plumbing and electrical systems to increase energy efficiency. The funding can build infrastructure, including roads and water and sewers facilities, to create suitable living environments. Priority was given to applicants that demonstrated an ability to obligate and expend the funds quickly.

The Recovery Act includes $13.61 billion for projects and programs administered by HUD, nearly 75 percent of which was allocated to state and local recipients only eight days after President Obama signed the Act into law. The remaining 25 percent of funds, including the grants announced today, are currently being awarded through an
ongoing competitive grant process. HUD is committed to implementing Recovery Act investments swiftly and effectively as they generate tens of thousands of jobs, modernize homes to make them energy efficient, and help
the families and communities hardest hit by the economic crisis.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.