STATEMENT BY HUD SECRETARY SHAUN DONOVAN ON INTRODUCTION OF THE CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVE ACT OF 2010

December 23, 2010

(Washington, DC) - On Wednesday, December 22, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez introduced the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2010, a proposal designed to transform distressed neighborhoods and public and privately owned Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted housing into viable, sustainable, mixed-income communities by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs.

The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2010 will build on the success of HUD's HOPE VI program, which has revitalized distressed public housing and neighborhoods for nearly 20 years. Choice Neighborhoods will also have a strong emphasis on local community planning for access to high-quality educational opportunities, including early childhood education. Congress previously approved $65 million in HUD's FY 2010 budget for a Choice Neighborhood Initiative pilot.

The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act will also support the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, a White House-led interagency collaborative which is developing and executing a place-based strategy to support local communities in developing and obtaining the tools they need to revitalize neighborhoods of concentrated poverty into neighborhoods of opportunity

The following is a statement released today by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan:

"I applaud Senator Menendez for introducing this important legislation that moves HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative pilot in the right direction, toward making it permanent with sufficient funding that will not only transform neighborhoods, but most importantly, improve the lives of future generations.

Senator Menendez's efforts and his work in the Congress to move this bill forward is encouraging as HUD gears up to award grants for the Initiative's pilot program in 2011."

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