May 23, 2020 - Washington - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday wrote to Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson urging him to quickly distribute more than $9 billion in funding Congress passed for housing and homelessness assistance during the pandemic. The funds were included by Congress in the CARES Act. To date, less than half of the funds have been awarded and less than 1 percent has been made available for use.

            “I write to express my concern that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has not yet awarded significant portions of housing and homelessness funding appropriated by Congress through the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) to help states, cities, and counties prepare for and respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” wrote Senator Feinstein.

            “In particular, I was alarmed to learn that nearly two months after the CARES Act was signed into law, less than half of the combined $9 billion provided to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs has been awarded, and less than one percent of this funding has actually been made available for use.”

            Full text of the letter is available here and below.

May 21, 2020

The Honorable Benjamin S. Carson
Secretary
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20410

Dear Secretary Carson,

            I write to express my concern that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has not yet awarded significant portions of housing and homelessness funding appropriated by Congress through the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) to help states, cities, and counties prepare for and respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

            In particular, I was alarmed to learn that nearly two months after the CARES Act was signed into law, less than half of the combined $9 billion provided to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs has been awarded, and less than one percent of this funding has actually been made available for use. 

            Our state and local governments need federal support now more than ever.  As this pandemic continues, governments are having to spend considerably more to address the crisis, while losing more of the tax revenue they rely on to provide essential services.  As local governments try to assess the damage and plan for deep cuts to their 2021 budgets, flexible funding provided through the CDBG and ESG programs is necessary to help offset some of the costs of maintaining critical public services, assisting vulnerable residents, and preventing further coronavirus spread. 

            It is critically important that your department act with the utmost urgency to distribute this funding to states and localities, many of which are beginning to plan their budgets for the next fiscal year and will need to rely on it through the coming months.  Any unnecessary delay in getting this funding out the door and into our communities will further hamper our coronavirus response efforts.

            Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to your response. 

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein