ND Native Households are Overcrowded at Almost Four Times the Rate of the Rest of the Country, and Live in Poverty 2.7 Times More than Americans Nationwide

BISMARCK, N.D. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced a new federal rule she pushed for that will promote more accessible and affordable housing in high-need areas, including rural and tribal communities.

The announcement follows Heitkamp’s efforts to expand the rule to support affordable housing in Indian Country where 15 percent of Native households nationally and 18 percent in the Great Plains have severe housing needs, including overcrowded spaces, not enough insulation, or black mold.

The new Duty to Serve rule from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) comes after Heitkamp called on the FHFA in October to open up credit and investment options that will help families in rural and tribal communities find safe, affordable housing. FHFA’s final rule will allow the Government Sponsored Enterprises to receive Duty to Serve credit for Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity investments in rural housing projects that will help put them on par with investments in urban housing projects. This change will provide more housing resources to rural communities where new construction and rehabilitation opportunities are severely lacking, and especially to Indian Country where the lack of such investments has been particularly apparent and harmful.

“Anyone who has been on the ground in some of the poorest Great Plains tribal reservations can tell you, the outlook for families seeking safe, affordable shelter that can withstand a harsh North Dakota winter is bleak,” said Heitkamp. “But this new rule provides a ray of hope for these families. This rule which I pushed for is helping to level the playing field so there is more affordable and accessible housing in rural communities, especially in Indian Country where housing conditions are particularly dire. No one should have to live in a house meant for four people that instead sleeps 15 people or isn’t insulated enough to keep a family warm in the tough North Dakota winter. Now, we’re making a needed step forward to change that.”

The FHFA’s rule will help bring much-needed equity to housing across Indian Country – particularly in North Dakota. According to U.S. Census Bureau data provided by HUD, those living in tribal communities in North Dakota lack a kitchen, plumbing or live in overcrowded conditions almost four times more often than Americans nationwide, and are impoverished at 2.7 times the rate of the rest of the country.

 Heitkamp has long been working with U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to bring about long-term solutions to improve housing options across Indian Country. After bringing HUD Julián Castro for his first visit to North Dakota in 2014 to view the housing challenges experienced by tribes on the ground, Heitkamp delivered the keynote address during HUD’s first Great Plains regional Indian housing conference in Bismarck in August.

As North Dakota’s Attorney General, Heitkamp served on the board of directors of the state’s Housing Finance Agency and worked to promote better housing solutions on tribal lands. Since joining the U.S. Senate, Heitkamp has been steadfast in her work to improve housing conditions for families across Indian Country, by:

• Working to sustain and improve tribal housing: As a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Heitkamp has advocated for increased infrastructure and financial solutions to barriers in Indian housing development. In March 2015, Heitkamp helped the Committee pass bipartisan legislation to reauthorize NAHASDA, which supports efforts to provide safe and affordable housing to American Indians. Heitkamp has been pushing for the reauthorization of NAHASDA since July 2013.
  
  
• Engaging the Administration on improving unsafe conditions in Indian Country: Heitkamp has consistently engaged the President and federal leaders on addressing mold issues across tribal lands. After the President and First Lady visited Standing Rock in June 2014, Heitkamp encouraged President Obama to improve educational conditions for children at Cannon Ball Elementary – a school battling mold, rats and a leaky roof. Shortly after, the school was awarded technological assistance in every classroom, and President Obama cited his visit as the impetus for his Generation Indigenous initiative to help Native students overcome barriers to success.
  
  
• Securing investments in housing improvements: In September 2015, Heitkamp announced that the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe would receive $800,000 in federal assistance for its mold remediation efforts. That funding comes from the $6 million in mold remediation funding which was announced by Castro when Heitkamp brought him to Belcourt in 2014 during his first trip to North Dakota. In February 2015, Heitkamp announced more than $20 million in federal funding to promote safe and affordable housing on tribal lands in North Dakota.

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