Nearly $67 Million In New Federal Disaster Relief Funding Heading To Hawai‘i

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Hawai‘i will receive $66.9 million in new federal disaster relief funding. The new Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding will help state and local governments rebuild impacted communities, especially in low- and moderate-income areas, and provide resources to help businesses recover. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, worked with federal agencies and state and county officials to ensure Hawai‘i submitted a strong application to receive the maximum amount of funding. The new funding allocation was part of the $1.7 billion housing disaster recovery package Congress passed last year.

“As we continue to recover from the series of natural disasters that hit our state, these new federal grants will be a huge help. And while this is good news for Hawai‘i, it is not our only chance at additional federal funding. I will continue to fight for federal resources at every opportunity to help Hawai‘i recover,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

With the nearly $67 million in housing grants announced today, Hawai‘i has now been allocated more than $429 million in federal relief funding to help the state recover from the historic storms in April 2018, Hurricane Lane, and the eruption of Kilauea on Hawai‘i Island including:

• $12 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in individual assistance to help people who have lost their home;
• $206 million from FEMA in public assistance to help local and state governments clean up and repair public infrastructure such as facilities, parks, and water lines;
• $93.1 million from the Department of Transportation to help rebuild roads and highways;
• $47.2 million from the Small Business Administration in subsidized loans to help individuals and businesses pay for repairs not covered by insurance;
• $4 million from the Department of Labor in Disaster Unemployment Insurance to help those who lost their job temporarily or permanently because of a disaster and are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits; and
• $187,000 from the Economic Development Administration to provide technical assistance for economic development activities in disaster impacted areas.

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