Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, announced that South Dakota tribal communities will receive a total of $28,975,936 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funding is part of the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Program and will be used to improve housing in these communities.
“This federal funding will be used to improve the lives of people on our reservations who have some of the worst housing conditions in the country,” said Johnson. “As Chairman of the committee that oversees housing, and a member of the Indian Affairs Committee, I am committed to supporting smart policies that are in line with the federal government’s treaty and trust responsibility, to improve housing in Indian Country.”
The following received IHBG funding today:
Cheyenne River Housing Authority – Eagle Butte, SD: $5,264,620
Crow Creek Housing Authority – Fort Thompson, SD: $1,560,610
Flandreau Santee Housing Authority – Flandreau, SD: $319,522
Lower Brule Housing Authority – Lower Brule, SD: $1,249,885
Oglala Sioux (Lakota) Housing Authority – Pine Ridge, SD: $11,069,878
Sicangu Wicoti Awanyakape Corporation – Rosebud, SD: $7,405,966
Yankton Sioux Tribal Housing Authority – Wagner, SD: $2,105,455
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has jurisdiction over housing issues, and shares joint responsibility for the IHBG Program with the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
The Indian Housing Block Grant Program (IHBG) was established by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996, a bill Johnson sponsored. The bill reorganized the system of housing assistance for Native Americans and created two grant programs, the Indian Housing Block Grant and the Title VI Loan Guarantee. IHBG funding can be used to develop or support rental or ownership housing to benefit low-income Indian families on reservations. This includes providing financing guarantees to Indian tribes for loans to develop and expand affordable housing. The funding can also be used for services such as housing counseling, crime prevention and safety activities, and energy auditing.
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