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Law360 (April 3, 2020, 8:56 PM EDT ) The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Friday it is giving $200 million in block grants to help Native American tribes and related housing groups respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
The Indian Housing Block Grant funds will aid tribes and tribally designated housing entities around the United States as they address affordable housing needs aimed at protecting tribal members' health and safety, according to HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
Carson noted in a statement that the assistance follows President Donald Trump's March 27 signing of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act into law.
"When President Trump signed the CARES Act into law, he wanted to ensure that American Indian tribes received the assistance they needed to combat the coronavirus," Carson said. "HUD remains committed to providing tribes with the tools they need during this national emergency to continue to create safe, affordable housing opportunities for their communities."
The grants primarily benefit low-income American Indian families, with each grant's amount based on a formula that looks at local needs and housing units under management by a tribe or housing entity, according to HUD. Eligible activities for funding include housing development, modernization of existing housing, operation and maintenance, housing management services, and crime prevention and safety activities, HUD said.
Tribes in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming are slated to receive the HUD funds.
Of those states, Arizona will receive the largest amount of HUD funding, $37.18 million, for 20 tribes.
According to Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service is already aware of nearly 200 cases of COVID-19 in Indian Country as of Thursday, and tribes and urban Indian health organizations are worried that federal response efforts and resources won't reach them.
Separate from the HUD funds, the tribes' $10 billion share of the CARES Act includes $8 billion for a "stabilization fund" to support tribal governments dealing with the pandemic by providing resources for them to help health care providers, small businesses, schools, communities and individuals mitigate the impact of the virus.
The $8 billion fund will pay for "emergency relief to tribal governments and offset costs incurred by Indian tribes due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said in a statement on March 26.
--Additional reporting by Stephen Cooper and Andrew Westney. Editing by Daniel King.
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