Washington, DC (December 19, 2007) – Rural and low-income housing projects are set to receive a significant boost thanks to funding obtained by Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) in the omnibus spending bill approved by Congress this week. The spending package includes more than a billion dollars for vital programs that increase access to affordable housing.
“Over four million Americans live in conditions that are poor, inadequate, or run-down,” Hinojosa said. “This bill takes a step in the right direction and devotes much-needed resources to attack our nation’s chronic problem of substandard housing.”
The Omnibus Appropriations bill contains the following funding secured by Hinojosa:
$2.94 million for Housing Assistance Council — the Housing Assistance Council provides technical assistance, training, and support to community-based rural housing organizations. It also supplies loans, grants, or other financial assistance to these organizations so that they can improve affordable housing options for low- and moderate-income families;
$980,000 for the La Raza Development Fund — The Raza Development Fund provides flexible loans, along with technical assistance, to organizations that provide services and opportunities to low-income Latino families;
$17 million for RHED — HUD’s Rural Housing and Economic Development Program provides additional funding to state and local entities so that they can better support innovative housing and economic development activities in rural areas;
$1.1 billion for USDA Section 502 Housing Loans To Rural Areas — the program enables borrowers to obtain loans for the purchase or repair of new or existing single-family housing in rural areas. Borrowers with income of 80% or less of the area median may be eligible for the direct loans, and they may receive interest credit to reduce the interest rate to as low as 1%. The loans are repayable over a 33-year period. In a given fiscal year, at least 40% of the units financed under this section must be made available only to very low-income individuals or families. The Section 502 direct loan program is an extremely efficient program that results in a total cost to the Federal government of only $10,000 per loan.
$69.5 million for USDA Section 515 rural rental housing — The Section 515 program provides funds both for new construction and for the repair and preservation of affordable rental housing units. The program is the only authorized Federal program that provides direct loans for multi-family housing in rural areas;
$39 million for USDA Section 523 Self-Help Housing— Self-Help Housing makes homes affordable by enabling future homeowners to build their homes themselves and enables qualified nonprofit and local government organizations to provide technical assistance to low and very low-income families who are building homes in rural areas;
$28.5 million for USDA Section 514 Farm Worker Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Worker Grant Programs — provides assistance for farm worker housing. Farm workers and their families are some of the poorest and assisted people in the nation. Approximately 61% percent of farm workers earn incomes below the poverty level.
$1.4 million for Excellence in Economic Education — This program promotes economic and financial literacy among all students in kindergarten through grade 12 through the award of one grant to a national nonprofit education organization that has as its primary purpose the improvement of the quality of student understanding of personal finance and economics. The objectives of this program are to: (1) increase students' knowledge of and achievement in economics; (2) strengthen teachers' understanding of economics; (3) encourage economic education research and development, disseminate effective instructional materials, and promote the replication of best practices and exemplary programs that foster economic literacy; (4) assist States in measuring the impact of education in economics; and (5) leverage and expand increased private and public support for economic education partnerships at the national, State, and local levels.
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