Vice President Harris announces funding for affordable housing in Michigan
While in office, former President Donald Trump proposed cutting the budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
On May 8, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the Biden administration would provide $5.5 billion in funding for housing-related projects across the United States. The funds, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be used to expand affordable housing, combat homelessness, support people with HIV/AIDS needing housing, and provide housing for people recovering from substance abuse.
“This funding will build more affordable homes and support renters and homeowners while also lowering costs, building wealth, and creating jobs,” Harris said in a statement.
In Michigan, $118 million will be provided in Community Development Block Grants, which are used to provide housing and economic opportunities for residents, particularly those with low and moderate incomes. According to HUD, these programs were used to help 62,000 families across the nation in 2023.
The department will also provide $36 million to be used to secure affordable rental housing for low-income families, $10 million in grants to fund and operate homeless shelters, $4 million to expand the affordable housing supply via the Housing Trust Fund, and $7 million for housing and support for people with HIV/AIDS.
The new initiative follows on Biden’s most recent State of the Union address, delivered in March, in which he called on Congress to pass legislation to build at least two million new homes, provide assistance for first-time homebuyers, and lower housing rental costs.
During his administration, former President Donald Trump proposed cutting funding to HUD and to programs that provide rental assistance for low-income families.
Trump also rescinded a rule put in place by the Obama administration that required local governments and agencies receiving federal help for housing to adhere to nondiscriminatory practices.
“I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood. Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down,” Trump wrote on Twitter in July 2020 in announcing the cancellation of the rule.
FBI data shows that the number of murders increased in the final years of Trump’s presidency and then declined in 2022 and 2023.
