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Nevada Democratic Sen. Sen. Jacky Rosen during a Senate committee hearing last month. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Nevada Democratic U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen announced Monday that $1.34 billion in funding for tribal housing programs is now available, including for the Indian Housing Block Grant program.
The funding was included in the government spending package approved by Congress and signed into law last week.
Native Americans in tribal areas have some of the worst housing needs in the nation, facing higher poverty rates, overcrowded housing, lack of plumbing and heat, and limited infrastructure for sewer, gas, and energy, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).
Rosen last month urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to increase funding for tribal housing, specifically by reauthorizing the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA).
Originally enacted in 1996, NAHASDA is the primary federal statute to address housing in tribal communities, including the Indian Housing Block Grant program, the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant program, and the Title VI Loan Guarantee program.
Yet Congress had not officially reauthorized the act since 2013, and program funding has been largely stuck at funding levels that were set then. As a result, when adjusted for inflation, funding for tribal housing has actually decreased over the last several years.
Nevada is home to 28 Tribes, bands, councils, and colonies, many of which received grants through the Indian Housing Block Grant program to build affordable housing.
“As we confront a housing shortage and affordability crisis, Tribal communities in Nevada are being hit particularly hard,” Rosen said in a statement announcing the funding. “That’s why I pushed for increasing funding for housing in Tribal communities in the bipartisan government funding package.”
“Thanks to the strong leadership of Senator Rosen, together we’re delivering record funding for Native communities in Nevada and across the country. This funding will help support unique and urgent Native housing needs, including building more affordable housing, providing rental assistance, and getting electricity and plumbing into homes,” said U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, Chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
This story has been updated to include a quote by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, Chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
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