On the Issues
Community Development Block Grant Program
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program has been one of the most successful federal programs for fighting poverty, supporting affordable housing, and stimulating economic growth. It provides significant flexibility to local communities to target resources to their own unique needs for maximum effect.
Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has proposed eliminating the CDBG program at along with the Community Services Block Grant and several other community development programs at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, as part of an effort to consolidate the federal government’s community development activities into a single program at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The president’s consolidation proposal would fund community development activities at $8.7 billion, a cut of $2.8 billion below the current funding level and $3.1 billion below the amount needed to maintain purchasing power at the 2008 level. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will be fighting to preserve community development resources, which are so critical to helping families and communities rise out of poverty, pursue the American dream, and contribute to economic growth.
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