Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced that the fiscal year 2020 spending bill includes $2.173 billion to battle unaffordable rents and homelessness. The bill, which has passed both houses of Congress and now goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law, funds several federal departments, and includes Oregon priorities for transportation, housing, and other programs that local communities rely on to fund services, build parks, and more.
“La infraestructura y la vivienda son problemas apremiantes para las comunidades de Oregón, tanto urbanas como rurales”, dijo Merkley, quien sirve en el Comité de Asignaciones del Senado. “A medida que nuestras ciudades y pueblos en todos los rincones del estado enfrentan la mayor crisis de asequibilidad de viviendas en décadas, con alquileres que superan drásticamente los ingresos, debemos hacer todo lo posible para asegurarnos de que las familias tengan las viviendas dignas que se merecen. Este proyecto de ley incluye las inversiones necesarias para abordar la actual crisis de vivienda y personas sin hogar”.
“No one should have to choose between paying rent or feeding their family. Yet, working families in Oregon are struggling to pay rent, and many others have been forced to leave their communities or to live on the streets,” dijo Wyden. “We must persist in the fight for affordable housing, and thankfully, this package secures much-needed support for those most vulnerable in communities across our state.”
Merkley es el único miembro del Congreso de Oregón de cualquier cámara desde el Senador Mark Hatfield que forma parte del Comité de Apropiaciones, considerado uno de los más poderosos del Capitolio.
Key housing funding that will benefit Oregon include:
Subvenciones en bloque para el desarrollo comunitario: Rejecting the Trump Administration’s request to eliminate the program, the bipartisan bill includes $3.4 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Program. This program funds vital housing rehabilitation, supportive services, public improvements and economic development projects in communities across Oregon and the nation while encouraging local investment.
Vivienda asequible: As rural and urban communities across Oregon continue to experience housing crises, the bill includes an increase for affordable housing programs for some of Oregon’s most vulnerable people—low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Merkley led 27 of his colleagues, including Wyden, in a successful effort to provide $12.5 billion for housing unit specific rental assistance, an increase of over $800 million serving 1.2 million low-income households. The bill also protects funding for housing programs that benefit the elderly and people with disabilities.
Rentas justas de mercado: Building on significant positive fair market rent changes due to Merkley’s language in the fiscal year 2018 bill, the bill includes $500,000 for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to find better ways to measure the fair and accurate cost of a rental unit. This is a significant step forward in the battle to address the affordable housing crisis, by ensuring that vouchers keep pace with the real cost of rent in competitive rental markets.
Vivienda Rural: El Programa de Oportunidades de Autoayuda para la Propiedad de Vivienda (SHOP) y el Programa de Creación de Capacidad Rural recibieron $10 millones y $5 millones, respectivamente. SHOP proporciona fondos para constructores de viviendas sin fines de lucro, como Habitat for Humanity, para cubrir la compra de terrenos y los costos de infraestructura. Los fondos de Capacidad Rural están destinados a desarrollar la capacidad de las organizaciones sin fines de lucro de viviendas rurales de bajos ingresos al proporcionar capacitación, información, asistencia técnica y financiamiento.
Los elementos clave del proyecto de ley que buscan abordar la falta de vivienda en Oregón incluyen:
Subsidios de asistencia para personas sin hogar: The bill includes $2.8 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, a $141 million increase that will benefit organizations across Oregon. Within that appropriation, rapid rehousing programs for victims of domestic violence received $50 million; homeless youth programs received $80 million; and Emergency Solutions Grants—particularly important to the Portland metro area—received $290 million to support street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness: The bill includes $3.8 million for the program to continue its coordination of federal agencies working to combat homelessness.
Programa de sociedades de inversión HOME: The bill includes $1.4 billion for the program to provide states and localities with flexible resources to respond to their affordable housing challenges, including rental housing and paths to homeownership for low-income families.
Corporación de Reinversión Vecinal: The program, also known as NeighborWorks America, received $157.5 million. The national nonprofit offers support for affordable housing and community development through public-private partnerships. President Trump’s proposal would have eliminated this program, crippling its six locations across Oregon.
HUD-Vivienda de Apoyo para Asuntos de Veteranos: El programa recibió $40 millones para proporcionar cupones de asistencia de alquiler para veteranos sin hogar, junto con administración de casos y servicios clínicos. Estos vales han sido fundamentales para reducir la falta de vivienda de los veteranos en un 49 por ciento desde 2010.
Key transportation funding that will benefit Oregon include:
Programa de subvenciones de inversión de capital: El proyecto de ley incluye casi $2 mil millones para el programa, que proporciona fondos para importantes inversiones en tránsito que respaldan el transporte sostenible y la reducción de la congestión en las ciudades en crecimiento de Oregón.
Subvenciones CONSTRUIR: The program, formerly known as TIGER grants, received a $1 billion investment for 2019, a $100 million increase. This critical transportation grants program, which the Trump Administration’s budget zeroed out for the second year, has helped fund projects across Oregon.
Transportation Formula Grants: The program received $10.1 billion, including $338 million for Bus and Bus Facilities Grants to help transit agencies purchase new buses and replace aging fleets, in particular transitioning to new low- or no-emission vehicles. The bill also included $40 million for transportation-related formula grants for rural areas.
Electric Buses: The agreement includes $75 million, a $45 million increase, for the Department of Transportation’s Low and No Emission transit program, which allows transit agencies to replace their aging gas powered fleet with modern, energy efficient buses.
Ley RÁPIDA: The bill protects funding for rail programs authorized under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, including $325 million for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grants and $200 million for Partnership for State of Good Repair grants, which support capital investment and maintenance projects for Amtrak routes and rail assets.
Servicio Aéreo Esencial y Torres Contract: The bill includes $162 million for the Essential Air Service. The Essential Air Service program supports flights between the City of Pendleton and Portland International Airport, a vital connection to support economic development across Eastern Oregon. Additionally, the bill increases funding for FAA Contract Towers by $2 million to $170 million. There are six contract towers across Oregon, and this funding ensures their continued operation.
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