Page 11 - aruba-today-20220404

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business Monday 4 april 2022
Battle heats up over remaining federal rental assistance

By MICHAEL CASEY it received far surpassed
Associated Press the $25 million given to
In her office at a nonprofit Memphis, which has a simi-
in central Nebraska, Karen lar population.
Rathke routinely encoun- "As long as we're able to
ters residents still stung by serve all our eligible house-
the pandemic and hoping holds, hopefully folks will
to get help with their rent. see that there is greater
Rathke, president of the need in other parts of the
Heartland United Way, was country that have received
hoping to tap into an ad- a lot less assistance per
ditional $120 million in fed- household," Hanford said
eral Emergency Rental As- when asked about the
sistance to help them. But state returning $31 million.
that money, part of what's In Nebraska, the loss of
known as ERA2, is at risk af- funds is projected to hit ru-
ter Republican Gov. Pete ral areas hardest.
Ricketts said he doesn't The state program already
want it. reallocated $85 million of
Many other states have in its $158 million in ERA1 to
recent months returned its biggest cities of Omaha
tens of millions of dollars in and Lincoln and their re-
unused rental assistance spective counties. It still has
because they have so few A "For Rent" sign is posted on a building, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Philadelphia. nearly $30 million. Without
renters — but only Nebras- Associated Press the additional $120 million
ka has flat out refused the American tribes, including people in need as pos- that are helping adminis- in ERA2 money, an analy-
aid. the Oglala Sioux Lakota in sible." ter the rental assistance still sis by the University of Ne-
"I'm very concerned about South Dakota and Chippe- North Dakota returned $150 available expect a contin- braska-Lincoln's Center on
not having anything," wa Cree in Montana, are million of its $352 million, ued need. The state has Children, Families and the
Rathke said of the federal also receiving tens of mil- saying it couldn't effective- long faced a run on afford- Law found that tenants in
money, which can be al- lions of dollars in additional ly spend all the money by able housing, which has Omaha and Lincoln will still
located over the next three help. the deadline. The state be- only been exacerbated have help after September,
years for everything from Those losing money are lieves the remaining funds during the pandemic. but those in other counties
rent to services prevent- almost all smaller Repub- are sufficient to meet the "Housing costs are just too will not. The state "has re-
ing eviction to affordable lican states with large ru- needs of those who are eli- high," said Sandy Miller, ceived and distributed an
housing activities. ral populations and fewer gible. who coordinates the rental unprecedented amount of
"All these nonprofits, when renters. Many were slow Some Democratic lawmak- assistance program for an federal funding to help Ne-
people come to them ask- to spend their share as re- ers disagree. organization called Com- braskans weather the storm
ing for help, the bucket will quired by program rules, "Outrageous and unac- munity Action in the west- over these past two years,"
be empty," she said. "It is so they either voluntarily ceptable: turning back ern half of South Dakota. he wrote in an opinion col-
hard to tell people no, to returned money or had it rental assistance funds "It's harder for them to get umn. "But at a certain point,
tell people that we don't taken. Some, like South Da- when applications are pil- in a home, it's harder for we must acknowledge that
have the funds to help kota, Wyoming and New ing up and people are them to stay in their home." the storm has passed and
them." Hampshire, unsuccessfully being evicted," tweeted Several states argued the get back to the Nebras-
The debate is playing out pitched to use the money Democratic Rep. Karla reallocation addresses a ka Way. We must guard
across the country as the for other things like afford- Rose Hanson, of Fargo. flaw in the program, which against becoming a wel-
Treasury Department be- able housing. South Dakota was forced created a funding formula fare state where people
gins reallocating some of Treasury officials, housing to return more than $81 mil- based on population, not are incentivized not to work
the $46.5 billion in rental as- advocates and many Re- lion — though more than the number of renters in a and encouraged to rely
sistance from places slow publican governors argue $9 million went to Native state. on government handouts
to spend to others that are there is still plenty of mon- American tribes in the state. "Congress ... did not take well after an emergency is
running out of funds. ey to help renters in these Gov. Kristi Noem suggested into consideration Wyo- over."
States and localities have states and that the reallo- the money was not neces- ming's small population, in- But housing advocates say
until September to spend cation gets money where sary, adding: "Our renters come levels, actual renters' his decision will leave many
their share of the first $25 it's most needed. Montana, enjoy something even bet- needs, and that the major- vulnerable tenants without
billion allocated, known for example, returned $54.6 ter than government hand- ity of Wyoming households a lifeline. Tenants in rural
as ERA1, and the second million but still has $224.5 outs: a job." — 70% — are owner oc- areas often have access
$21.55 billion, known as million. West Virginia re- But Democratic Sen. Reyn- cupied," said Rachel Girt, to fewer resources, includ-
ERA2, by 2025. So far, Trea- turned more than $42.4 mil- old Nesiba said there was the state's rental assistance ing affordable housing, in-
sury says $30 billion has lion but still has $224.7 mil- a lack of awareness about communication coordina- ternet access and reliable
been spent or allocated lion, according to Treasury. the rental assistance and tor, after the state returned transport.
through February. "We are trying to reallo- criticized the state for not $164 million out of $352 mil- Lawmakers passed a bill
Treasury announced earlier cate the best we can," doing more to promote it. lion. Another $2.8 million last month requiring the
this month that over $1 bil- said Gene Sperling, who is He pointed to a $5 million was shifted to the Northern state to apply for the mon-
lion of ERA1 funds would be charged with overseeing tourism advertising cam- Arapaho Tribal Housing Pro- ey. But Ricketts vetoed the
moved, for a total of $2.3 implementation of Presi- paign that was paid for gram and Eastern Shosho- bill, saying the state "must
billion reallocated this year. dent Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion with coronavirus relief funds ne Housing Authority. guard against big govern-
Larger states like Califor- coronavirus rescue pack- and questioned why that Josh Hanford, commis- ment socialism." If lawmak-
nia, New York, New Jersey age. "This is a balancing level of promotion didn't sioner of the Vermont De- ers don't override his veto,
and Texas are getting hun- act, but one that is rooted happen for pandemic re- partment of Housing and the money is likely to be
dreds of millions of dollars in in commitment to getting lief programs. Community Development, reallocated by Treasury to
additional money. Native the most funds to the most Meanwhile, organizations noted that the $352 million other states.q