The U.S. Senate has approved an appropriations bill that includes “additional money for homelessness and affordable housing programs which will help Hawaii, Sen. Brian Schatz said in a statement Friday.
His office highlighted these aspects of the Fiscal Year 2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act:
• Assistance to about 9,000 Hawaii households as part of a $20.4 billion nationwide appropriation for Tenant Based Rental Assistance. “In 2014, private owners in Hawaii who provide rental housing received more than $98 million in payments from this program,” the statement said.
• $218 million to Hawaii for roads, bridges, buses and bike paths, as budgeted last year.
• $5 million for Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grants, which the statement described as “a program that provides financial assistance for Native Hawaiian families to obtain new homes, make renovations, build community facilities, and receive housing services, including counseling, financial literacy, and other critical resources to address housing disparities.”

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About the Author
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Richard Wiens is the News Editor of Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at rwiens@civilbeat.org or follow him on twitter at @WiensCivilBeat.