FLINT, MI - Federal lawmakers said Michigan could get the "lion's share" of $2 billion in federal funds recently released to help fight blight across the country.

U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee gathered in Flint on Tuesday, Dec. 22, to discuss the funding, which was transferred from the Home Affordable Modification Program to the Hardest Hit Fund.

"This is transformational," Kildee said of the funding. "We know that removing blight unlocks property values."

It has not yet been decided how the money will be divided up among Washington, D.C., and the 18 states eligible to receive funding from the Hardest Hit Funds. A decision is expected to be made by the Treasury in the coming weeks and months on how the funds will be distributed.

"We don't know how much, but it will have a lot of zeroes," Stabenow said.

Stabenow said Michigan and Ohio received roughly half of the federal funding released in 2013 through the Hardest Hit fund. Of the $500 million previously earmarked for Michigan, $200 million was given to cities like Detroit, Flint and Saginaw to demolish abandoned or vacant buildings.

Officials say roughly 2,000 blighted properties have so far been torn down in the Flint area and another 850 have been removed in Saginaw.

However, local officials say there are thousands of more properties that need to be removed.

"The evidence that this program works is overwhelming," Peters said.