Text size A  A  A

Byrd Announces Infusion Of Funds To West Virginia As Part Of Stimulus Bill 

2/26/2009 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., announced today that the State of West Virginia and many local cities throughout the State will begin receiving more than $6.6 million in federal funding as part of the recently enacted stimulus bill. The monies, administered through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Formula Program, will allow state and local governments to begin a wide range of activities and community projects targeted primarily at individuals of low and moderate income.

 

“These monies being made directly to our local communities will help improve the standard of living for the West Virginians who need it most,” Byrd said.  “In our current economic crisis, many communities need help, and I am pleased to be able to tell them that help is on the way.  This aid is critically important at a time when the American people are struggling, and it will begin to make a difference immediately.”

 

With these funds, local governments will be able to begin activities that will create suitable living environments, provide decent affordable housing, and create economic opportunities for those in need.  These funds can be spent on a variety of development projects all over West Virginia, and will help jump-start the local economies and provide jobs in the process.

 

As directed by the recently enacted “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” the Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated funding to those jurisdictions that received CDBG grants during FY 2008.

 

The State of West Virginia will receive more than $4.5 million to spend throughout the State.  In addition, eight cities throughout the entire state were awarded funds to begin projects of their own:

-          City of Charleston -- $497,051

-          City of Huntington -- $558,608

-          City of Martinsburg -- $105,460

-          City of Morgantown -- $147,419

-          City of Parkersburg -- $282,146

-          City of Vienna -- $29,817

-          City of Weirton -- $131,789

-          City of Wheeling -- $396,522

 

“This assistance is an important step in the process of improving the economy and the communities in West Virginia,” Byrd said.  “With this funding, the state and local governments now have the ability to directly affect change in West Virginia.  I trust that they will invest the money responsibly, and in the areas in which it will have the most effect and help to save and create the most jobs.