U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, tours the Toledo wastewater treatment facility on Friday, May 6. A legislative measure sponsored by Herrera Beutler will help places like Morton, Pe Ell, Toledo and Vader after they were earlier deemed "too affluent" to receive federal grants.
A legislative measure sponsored by Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler that was inspired by Lewis County communities such as Pe Ell and Vader being declared “too affluent” to qualify for federal grant programs passed the U.S. House Appropriations Committee Tuesday.
The legislation would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to report every area in the country in which income data used to determine eligibility has a margin of error of 20 percent or higher.
HUD would also be required to report those findings to the U.S. House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 90 days.
In 2014, Lewis County towns, including Morton, Pe Ell, Toledo and Vader, were informed by HUD that the results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey showed the communities were too wealthy to qualify for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant, designated for communities with low incomes.
The towns challenged the accuracy of that report, and in some cases made efforts to make their own surveys.
HUD calculates the income data used to determine CDBG grant eligibility based on a five-year average of the American Community Survey. The most recent sampling of data had a margin of error up to 91.5 percent for small towns in Lewis County, according to a press release from Herrera Beutler’s office.
Currently, the margin of error in income data for small rural communities is not public.
“This agency is supposed to return tax dollars to the communities that need it most, but it has made serious mistakes in disqualifying communities like Toledo, Pe Ell and Vader for being ‘too affluent,’ ” Herrera Beutler said in a statement. “It can’t cover up these mistakes if the legislation becomes law.”
Earlier this year, Herrera Beutler secured $1 million to reimburse communities in Lewis County negatively impacted by HUD’s determination that conducted their own income studies.
“After years of pressuring for transparency, my efforts will again require HUD to make the extent of inaccuracy of its data public — and it will be held accountable for its reporting errors,” Herrera Beutler wrote. “While it shouldn’t take an act of Congress to get a public agency to provide basic transparency, I’m not going to let up on this issue or the needs of our rural communities until we have a long-term solution.”
A provision in the legislation also requires HUD to come up with alternative ways to measure a community’s income level other than its existing strategy.
The next step for the legislation is a vote on the U.S. House floor.
