04.03.20

Cantwell Announces Washington State Tribes to Receive More than $12 Million in Affordable Housing Funds from COVID-19 Funding Package

All 29 of state’s federally recognized Tribes will receive funding to prepare for, respond to coronavirus through Indian Housing Block Grant Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that Washington state’s 29 federally recognized Tribes will receive a combined total of more than $12 million in funding for critical affordable housing programs. This comes after the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law last Friday.

The funds, which are part of COVID-19 relief allocations through the Indian Housing Block Grant Program (IHBG), are for the Tribes to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus, including to maintain normal operations and fund eligible affordable housing activities under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) while the program is impacted by coronavirus.

Under NAHASDA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides grants to Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages for the development and operation of low-income housing. The IHBG program assists grant recipients with affordable housing activities in safe and healthy environments on Indian reservations, in Indian communities, and in Native Alaskan villages.

Name

Funding

Chehalis Confederated Tribes

$324,515

Colville Confederated Tribes

$1,228,263

Cowlitz Indian Tribe

$479,156

Hoh Indian Tribe

$38,097

Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

$94,055

Kalispel Indian Community

$30,450

Lower Elwha Tribal Community

$181,848

Lummi Tribe

$1,005,460

Makah Indian Tribe

$259,882

Muckleshoot Indian Tribe

$483,362

Nisqually Indian Tribe

$164,172

Nooksack Indian Tribe

$255,977

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe

$299,566

Puyallup Tribe

$1,003,407

Quileute Tribe

$198,503

Quinault Indian Nation

$613,485

Samish Indian Nation

$281,241

Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe

$159,768

Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe

$73,263

Skokomish Indian Tribe

$183,285

Snoqualmie Indian Tribe

$76,358

Spokane Tribe

$761,674

Squaxin Island Tribe

$255,929

Stillaguamish Tribe

$69,531

Suquamish Indian Tribe

$258,900

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

$349,370

Tulalip Tribes

$913,140

Upper Skagit Tribe

$395,806

Yakama Indian Nation

$1,883,782

Total

$12,322,335

Earlier this week, Senator Cantwell announced that more than $52 million is coming to the state of Washington for three housing programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Washington is also expected to receive additional funds for housing programs in the coming weeks as a result of the CARES Act.

Senator Cantwell has long supported funding for housing and homelessness grants for Tribes in Washington state. Earlier this year Cantwell announced $1.4 million in affordable housing grants for the Yakama Nation. In 2018, Cantwell called for improvements to the IHBG program in order to better assist Native American veterans in finding housing in Indian Country. Cantwell has also prioritized investment in affordable housing, helping to secure nearly $3 billion in additional affordable housing funding in March 2018 and introducing legislation in 2019 to increase investment in affordable housing and provide more resources and stronger protections for at-risk groups. 

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