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Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler today formally urged the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to work with her in addressing the flawed survey methods that impacted certain Southwest Washington communities’ ability to qualify for development grants.  In her letter, she also invited Secretary Julian Castro to visit Vader, Toledo, and Pe Ell to view firsthand some of the communities that were deemed “too affluent” to receive Community Development Block Grants.

Jaime became aware of the issue via an early October meeting of Lewis County mayors.  Since then, she has worked with the Washington Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Southwest Washington’s affected municipalities to find immediate relief for individual communities, as well as a long term solution. 

In the weeks since Jaime engaged in this issue, Pe Ell was notified they will receive an $800,000 grant for street repairs and Toledo received a grant for a new water reservoir in September, based on an application submitted earlier in the year.  However, despite the fact that HUD acknowledged problems with the American Community Survey data that produced these skewed income results, the impacted communities remain in limbo over what will happen next.

“I’m committed to finding a solution to a problem that is blocking a number of Southwest Washington towns from qualifying for these grants for which they most certainly should qualify.  As a member of the congressional committee that shapes the budget of HUD, I’ll explore every option for fixing this problem that impacts so many rural Lewis County residents,” said Jaime.  “Specifically, we need HUD to address the American Community Survey’s flawed data that is painting inaccurate portraits of the economic difficulties these communities face. In particular, it should have taken into account that these folks are in a county still struggling to overcome the second highest unemployment rate in the state. And while I’m pleased that some towns have been given short term relief, we need the agency to obtain more accurate income data without delay to ensure these same communities don’t fall between the cracks going forward. 

“Anyone who has been to Vader, Toledo, and Pe Ell know that these resource-strapped communities are exactly why the Community Development Block Grant program exists. This is why I’ve offered to take HUD Secretary Castro to these towns – so he can personally see how flawed these survey results are, and why this problem must be fixed.”

Click here for Letter to U.S. HUD Secretary Castro.

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