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HUD to transfer stalled Newcap housing grants, Sen. Baldwin says
(This article has been updated to add new information.)
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin on April 24 said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will allow the transfer of housing grants from the anti-poverty nonprofit Newcap to other agencies, a reversal by the department.
Before shuttering on March 31 following intensified financial and ethics scrutiny into its operations, Newcap had housed 134 households across 10 counties in northeast Wisconsin with about $2.75 million in grants given through the federal anti-homelessness Continuum of Care Program. HUD officials had declined to let move those grants to other grant-eligible organizations, surprising service providers who said the move risked putting families out on the street and would undercut future funding to other agencies in most of the state.
Through March and April, Carrie Poser, executive director of the Balance of State responsible for federal housing grants across much of the state, said she had no update from HUD on the transfers she had requested. She repeatedly urged local agencies to lobby congressional lawmakers and HUD on the issue.
Baldwin, in a statement, said HUD Secretary Scott Turner "confirmed that the funding would be transferred" in a phone call the morning of April 24, adding that “134 Wisconsinites should never have had to worry about not having a roof over their head just because the Trump Administration wouldn’t complete some paperwork."
A spokeswoman for HUD did not immediately confirm the phone call.
Poser said she was "still working on getting clarification and confirmation."
Three Green Bay area Democratic state legislators issued statements following Baldwin's announcement in support of the department's reversal. State Sen. Jamie Wall, D-Green Bay, said "many of our neighbors can sleep easier tonight." State Rep. Amaad Rivera-Wagner, D-Green Bay, said, "This is what it looks like when government works the way it should." State Rep. Ryan Spaude, D-Ashwaubenon, called the move a "small but important breakthrough."