Bipartisan border bill aims to protect funding for Borderland colonias
Heriberto Perez
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Congressman Tony Gonzales’ office recently announced that he is leading the Texas border delegation on a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting funding for Colonias in several counties across the state.
This bill, called the “Ensuring Continued Access to Funding for Colonias Act,” seeks to safeguard federal funding sources for Colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Colonias are communities outside city limits, characterized by high poverty levels and a lack of essential water, sewer, and housing infrastructure.
“Colonias along the border have historically lacked the most basic necessities, like water and sewage. Though federal grant funding exists to address those needs, an outdated provision in the law may soon disqualify these communities from being eligible for it. My legislation, the Ensuring Continued Access to Funding for Colonias Act, corrects this problem so that colonias continue to have a fighting chance for self-sufficiency and economic development. Preventing colonia grant funds from lapsing is not only the right thing to do—it is essential to promoting public health, safety, and security along the border,” said Congressman Gonzales.
This bipartisan bill aims to increase the population eligibility for the Colonia Set-Aside of the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) from one million to two million residents. It also ensures that Colonias in El Paso and McAllen remain eligible for targeted federal CDBG funding.
According to the news release, Texas has the most Colonias among the four border states.
U. Congressional Representatives Veronica Escobar, Henry Cuellar, Monica De La Cruz, and Vicente Gonzalez also co-sponsored Representative Gonzales’s legislation.
“Colonias across the Borderland often lack critical infrastructure and support, like potable water, affecting the health and prosperity of our community,” said Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. “The Ensuring Continued Access to Funding for Colonias Act will help our local government overcome the financial obstacles to provide first-time, and much-needed, infrastructure to colonias. Ensuring colonias get the funding and support they need has been a priority for me since my time in El Paso County government. I’m proud to have brought millions in funding during my time in Congress and, now, proud to join my colleagues in continuing to elevate the needs of families living in colonias and maintaining federal support as well.”
ABC-7 reached out to Congressman Gonzales’s office for an interview.
More updates will follow in later newscasts.