Stimulus: States allocated $5B for affordable housing - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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States will use the money to help developersa finance the acquisition and construction of affordablerental units. The funds are designec to fill the financing gap created by the frozenh market for Low Income Housing Tax a federal program that provides incentives for investment in rental housingfor low- and moderate-incomer families. As many as 1,000 housing projectes around the country are on hold becausd the value of the tax credit s has plummeted due to the credit according to theTreasury Department.
Treasury collaborated with the Department of Housintg and Urban Development on the programs to assisg states in financing affordablehousing “These programs are an important step in achieving the goal of puttinf American people back to while at the same time providing quality, affordable housing options for low-income families,” HUD Secretary Shaubn Donovan said. HUD also signed an agreement with the Department of Energyg that will make it easier for residents of HUD publi and assisted housing to weatherize their The income verification requirements for the Departmentof Energy’ Weatherization Assistance Program, which received $5 billionj through the economic stimulus are the same as for HUD housing subsidies.
Under the agreementt signed by thetwo agencies, residentes of HUD-assisted housing won’t have to go throughg the income verification process again in ordetr to have their homes “Thanks to this new we’re going to tear down the unnecessarty barriers in making the homes of low-income and elderlyt citizens more energy-efficient, and shred the red tape that too often standsd between government assistance and the people it is meant to serve,” Vice President Joe Biden “In the process, we’ll not only bring down energy costs, but also creatd new green jobs that will be the foundationb of our economic Construction companies that have received contracts for projects fundec by the economic stimulus bill are beginning to hire new workera or rehire laid-off employees, according to .
“Early reportd indicate that the infrastructure piece of the stimulus is beginning to do exactlh whatwas intended, put construction workers back on the said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. Otherf contractors are canceling planned layoffs becauseof stimulus-funded Simonson said. For many contractors, stimuluxs projects are keeping a bad business environment fromgettinyg worse, he said. The numbefr of construction jobs declinedby 110,000 in according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Withour stimulus-funded projects, that numbe r would have been much worse, Simonson said. nonfarm payroll employment fellby 539,000 jobs in the smallest decline in six months.
This could be a sign that the economyu is beginningto stabilize, which “ixs consistent with the notion that demanrd for new construction will begin to emerge latetr this year and into 2010,” said Anirbabn Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and “The stimulus package represents an important element in that Basu said. “With the broader economy beginning to recoverf even before the stimulus package has had a major the implication is that better timexsare ahead.
” Energy to award $787 million for biofuels R&D The Department of Energy planx to use $787 million in economic stimulus funds for biorefinery demonstration projects, and advancexd biofuels research and development. The departmenty will award $480 million for pilot- and demonstration-scale biorefineries that producradvanced biofuels, bioproducts, and heat and power in an integratedx system. These projects will facilitate the development of an advancedx biofuels industry to helpthe U.S. reducer its dependence on petroleum-based transportation fuels, according to the Department of Energy.