HUD SECRETARY ANNOUNCES $3.7 BILLION IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDING
Jackson stresses formula fairness for needy communities around the nation

WASHINGTON -U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today announced nearly 1,200 communities across the nation will receive $3.7 billion this year through HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.

Sec. Jackson announces CDBG funding in Columbus, Ohio with Congressman Pat Tiberi. Columbus would receive a 70 percent jump in CDBG funding if Congress approves a new funding formula targeting more federal dollars to areas with greatest needs.

"This funding will help build better communities from the ground up," said Jackson. "Whether it's improving infrastructure or ensuring first-time homebuyers can purchase and maintain their homes, HUD is helping neighborhoods across America to become better places to live and work."

Since 1974, HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program has awarded an estimated $119 billion to state and local governments to target their own community development priorities. The rehabilitation of affordable housing and construction of public facilities and improvements have traditionally been the largest uses of the grants, although CDBG is also an important catalyst for job growth and business opportunities. CDBG funds are distributed by formula around the country based on a community's population, poverty, the age of its housing stock, and extent of overcrowded housing.

Despite significant demographic change in America, CDBG's underlying funding formula has remained virtually the same. Some communities receive significantly less funding based on today's needs while some affluent areas receive disproportionately larger grants. The President's Fiscal Year 2008 Budget proposes that Congress consider legislation to modernize CDBG's formula and ensure that resources are targeted to areas with the greatest need.

Jackson added, "More than 30 years ago, CDBG was designed to target the needs of our cities, counties and states. It's increasingly clear that an outdated formula that once measured the needs of urban America no longer reflects the modern needs of today's communities. This change is really about fairness. Communities in need deserve more funding compared to relatively less needy places. It's only fair."

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