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Managing America: Housing

TheWeekInCongress.com (TM)

Week Ending April 20, 2006

H.R.1515 To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to treat certain communities as metropolitan cities for purposes of the community development block grant program.

Two communities, Alton and Granite City, Illinois, are again allowed to receive Community Development Block Grants despite both towns being under the 50,000 population level that grant eligibility requires.

Metropolitan cities must have over 50,000 residents and the urban county must have 200,000. Alton and Granite City fell below the 50,000 limit in the 2000 census. Other smaller cities were grandfathered in but the two Illinois cities deferred their entitlement to the surrounding Madison County which had fallen below 200,000 in population. Both areas lost their eligibility.

Seventy percent of CDBGs are authorized for metropolitan cities and urban counties with 30% for states to use in other areas. There is approximately $2.6 billion available for grants. The Sate of Illinois would make the final decision on whether how much the two town would receive.

Sponsor:  Rep. Jerry F. Costello (D-IL-12^th)

Vote: Passed House by voice vote April 17, 2007

Cost to the taxpayers: CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1515 would have no significant impact on the federal budget.

Earmark Certification:  

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