WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced that following his urging, a new version of the transportation bill – expected to be introduced late tonight or tomorrow – will remove a dangerous provision that could rescind millions in funds awarded to Ohio to help communities devastated by the foreclosure crisis. The original transportation bill would use funding from the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) – from which Ohio has been awarded $570 million – to pay for a portion of the highway bill extension.

Brown has filed an amendment with Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters and Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed to strike the HHF offset, if it is not removed from the substitute legislation that will be introduced late tonight or tomorrow.

“This is a victory for Ohio communities and homeowners still reeling from the housing crisis,” Brown said. “It’s critical that we pass a long-term transportation bill, while preserving a fund that has provided $570 million to address the housing crisis in Ohio and to redevelop blighted neighborhoods by demolishing vacant properties.”

The Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) was established in 2010, using remaining funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) passed in 2008. Ohio was not initially included in the program, but Brown made direct appeals to President Obama and then Treasury Secretary Geithner to dedicate additional funds for this program. At the behest of Brown, the program, then called Hardest-Hit Housing Markets (4HM) program, was expanded in March 2010 to cover Ohio. As a result, Ohio was awarded more than $570 million through the Hardest Hit Fund. While it has utilized $499 million of this award, the remaining $71 million could be taken back to pay for the transportation bill.

HHF has provided OHFA with more than $570 million in funds that can be used in a flexible manner to address Ohio’s local housing issues. As of March 2015, more than $405 million has been spent on a variety of programs that help Ohioans stay in their homes, including direct assistance to borrowers and help for local housing counselors to assist homeowners. Of the nearly 24,500 Ohioans who have received assistance to date, the overwhelming majority have been able to remain in their homes. Less than one-half of one percent of participants has lost their homes through a sheriff’s sale.

In 2013, Brown fought to ensure that Ohio communities could also use the HHF to demolish vacant and abandoned properties. In March, after urging from Brown, the Department of the Treasury approved the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s proposal to use a portion of the state’s nearly $375 million remaining HHF funds to demolish vacant and abandoned properties. This resulted in $66 million in awards to the following Ohio land banks:

  • Ashtabula County Land Reutilization Corporation: $796,033.78
  • Belmont County Land Reutilization Corporation: $500,000
  • Butler County Land Reutilization Corporation: $2,000,000
  • City of Canton/Stark County Land Reutilization Corporation: $4,235,000
  • Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation: $5,825,000
  • Clark County Land Reutilization Corporation: $680,000.00
  • Columbiana County Land Reutilization Corporation: $1,118,750
  • Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation: $14,039,346.83
  • Erie County Land Reutilization Corporation: $500,000
  • Fairfield County Land Reutilization Corporation: $9,221,525
  • Hamilton County Land Reutilization Corporation: $5,065,000  
  • Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission: $715,000
  • Lake County Land Reutilization Corporation: $500,000
  • Lorain County Port Authority: $3,301,033.78 
  • Lucas County Land Reutilization Corporation: $9,221,525
  • Mahoning County Land Reutilization Corporation: $4,266,250 
  • Montgomery County Land Reutilization Corporation: $5,405,933.78
  • Richland County Land Reutilization Corporation: $1,069,783.78
  • Summit County Land Reutilization Corporation: $2,000,000 
  • Trumbull County Land Reutilization Corporation: $4,396,016.08

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