Menendez And Bergen Housing Authority Secure Additional $3.7 Million From Feds For Housing Assistance
Menendez joined by Lautenberg and Rothman in helping secure funding to assist in low-income rentals during housing crisis
WASHINGTON, DC – September 11, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and the Housing Authority of Bergen County announced that they have secured an additional $3,730,211 in funding for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers for Bergen County. The Housing Authority had requested the additional funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Menendez was joined by U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (NJ-9) in urging HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to accept the request. The funding was necessary to ensure that the Housing Authority would not have to cut back on its housing assistance programs in the midst of the economic crisis.
“The current housing crisis is at the root of the financial squeeze so many Bergen County families are feeling, and at the root of our nation’s economic crisis,” said Menendez, who is the Chairman of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development. “More than ever, it is vital that we make sure families can afford to keep a roof over their heads. Understandably, there are large number of families who are struggling to afford housing, which is why this investment is so important. I’m proud to have helped deliver this funding.”
“Our housing authorities are on the front line working hard to provide opportunities for New Jersey families and individuals to live in affordable homes and build a better life,” Sen. Lautenberg said. “In this tough economy, we’ve got to make sure they have the resources needed to continue providing affordable housing in Bergen County and in communities throughout New Jersey.”
“As we face the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we know that families are struggling to make ends meet,” said Congressman Steve Rothman (NJ-09). “It is essential that we continue to make sure that they have access to affordable housing, that is why Senator Menendez, Senator Lautenberg and I secured this funding along with my colleagues.”
“Today’s economic crisis has both created an unprecedented demand for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and increased the expense of each voucher issued because declining incomes increases the Housing Authority’s cost for each voucher,” said David Sivella, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Bergen County. “As a result of the leadership and tenacity of Senators Menendez and Lautenberg and Congressman Rothman this challenge has been met and as a result hundreds of Bergen County seniors and families have homes today.”
The funding Menendez, Lautenberg and Rothman helped secure will help subsidize rental assistance for low-income seniors and families in Bergen County. The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program provides assistance within a range of 60 percent up to 100 percent of the cost of eligible tenants’ rental expenses, depending upon their ability to pay.
