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Phila. gets support in Congress over HUD aid rules

Sixteen members of Congress from Pennsylvania yesterday called on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to change how it plans to allocate $1 billion in emergency stimulus funding for public housing.

Sixteen members of Congress from Pennsylvania yesterday called on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to change how it plans to allocate $1 billion in emergency stimulus funding for public housing.

The legislators, including Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, support complaints from the Philadelphia Housing Authority and other state agencies that HUD rules unfairly penalize big-city housing authorities.

In a letter to Secretary Shaun Donovan, the legislators said only 35 of the 82 public-housing authorities in Pennsylvania are eligible to compete in the first round of bidding for aid. The rest must wait for the second round. The legislators said the rules "seem to disadvantage Pennsylvania housing authorities."

The $1 billion is separate from $3 billion that will be allocated on the basis of population and poverty rates. - Jennifer Lin