Washington Tribes to receive $75 million in federal grants to address housing challenges

May 22—Washington Tribes will receive nearly $75 million in federal funding to help address housing challenges through the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program.

On Friday, Sen. Patty Murray announced that 29 tribes, including four in Southwest Washington, will receive funding to address housing struggles in Tribal communities. According to Murray, Native Americans are twice as likely to live in poverty and almost three times as likely to live in overcrowded housing.

"Finding a safe and affordable place to live continues to be a serious challenge for families across Washington state, especially for folks in Tribal communities who face higher rates of poverty and are more likely to live in overcrowded and unsafe conditions," Murray said in a statement. "The Indian Housing Block Grant program is the most important tool we have to support housing for Tribal communities, and as appropriations chair, I fought hard to deliver record funding despite tough budget caps. This money will help build new affordable housing in Tribal communities and improve existing housing—it will make a difference for Native American families all across our state."

In Southwest Washington, the grants include $1.7 million for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, $3.8 million for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, $3.7 million for the Quinault Indian Nation and $1 million for the Nisqually Indian Tribe.

As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray secured a record $1.111 billion for the IHBG program this year — a $324 million increase over last year.