U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill announced today that state of Missouri and 17 communities have been awarded a total of $17,819,557 in federal grant money through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). The money was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The CDBG program helps states and local governments to undertake a wide range of activities intended to create suitable living environments, provide affordable housing and create economic opportunities.
According to HUD, the following Missouri communities have been awarded funding:
· State of Missouri – $6,433,629
· Blue Springs – $61,127
· Columbia – $227,139
· Florissant – $61,028
· Independence – $202,906
· Jefferson City – $88,951
· Jefferson County – $309,462
· Joplin – $177,586
· Kansas City – $2,371,367
· Lee’s Summit – $84,118
· O’Fallon – $65,991
· Springfield – $360,730
· St. Charles – $84,272
· St. Joseph – $475,429
· St. Louis – $5,333,348
· St. Louis County – $1,431,315
· St. Peters City – $51,159
Funding to states and localities through the economic recovery package will be allocated through existing federal programs like these, rather than earmarks, in order to ensure prompt distribution and better accountability. Local projects receive funds from these grants by following the process set up by each program. During Congressional consideration of the economic recovery bill, McCaskill worked to put additional accountability measures in place.
McCaskill believes that federal grants and loans are a positive alternative to earmarks, which in the past have frequently had too little accountability. Competitive merit and need based federal grants and low-interest government loans bring federal assistance to Missouri in an honest and fiscally responsible manner.
