Senator Casey: Protect CDBG Program
WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today joined John A. Garner, Jr., Executive Director of the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities, to call to protect the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Funding from the CDBG program is used for many things in Pennsylvania, including promoting economic development, community revitalization and job creation. Senator Casey and Garner expressed their concerns in a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of each the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies.
“We write today to express our grave concerns about proposals to reduce funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in both fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2012,” Senator Casey and John Garner wrote in the letter. “This program has been instrumental in helping local communities in Pennsylvania promote economic development and job creation. The proposed funding reductions would unnecessarily curtail these efforts at a time when such economic activity is most needed.”
The letter continued, “Cuts to this program right now could have a devastating effect in cities throughout Pennsylvania and across the country. In Pennsylvania, 47 communities received funding directly from the federal government and countless others receive funding through the CDBG allocation made available to the state government. Small and large communities that receive CDBG funding throughout the state would be disproportionally impacted by the cuts as this funding constitutes a significant portion of their economic and community development budgets.”
The House-passed funding bill for the remainder of the fiscal year would cut funding for CDBG by 60%, which could mean that Pennsylvania communities could lose $149.4m this year if proposed cuts were to occur. Additional cuts have been proposed for the program in fiscal 2012.
In Pennsylvania, York and Lancaster are using a portion of their CDBG funding to reduce blight and revitalize their historic downtowns. In the Lehigh Valley, the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton use these funds to encourage private sector investment in many of the projects ongoing in these communities. Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport and Hazleton use this funding to revitalize their urban cores and make much needed road improvements. In other parts of the state, communities like Altoona, Johnstown, State College, Erie, Sharon and others, have used these funds to bolster existing housing stock, reconstruct streets and improve water infrastructure. Among other activities, Philadelphia is using a portion of its CDBG funding to stem the foreclosure crisis while Pittsburgh uses some of its allocation to transform neighborhoods by promoting homeownership and affordable housing.
“We write today to express our grave concerns about proposals to reduce funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in both fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2012,” Senator Casey and John Garner wrote in the letter. “This program has been instrumental in helping local communities in Pennsylvania promote economic development and job creation. The proposed funding reductions would unnecessarily curtail these efforts at a time when such economic activity is most needed.”
The letter continued, “Cuts to this program right now could have a devastating effect in cities throughout Pennsylvania and across the country. In Pennsylvania, 47 communities received funding directly from the federal government and countless others receive funding through the CDBG allocation made available to the state government. Small and large communities that receive CDBG funding throughout the state would be disproportionally impacted by the cuts as this funding constitutes a significant portion of their economic and community development budgets.”
The House-passed funding bill for the remainder of the fiscal year would cut funding for CDBG by 60%, which could mean that Pennsylvania communities could lose $149.4m this year if proposed cuts were to occur. Additional cuts have been proposed for the program in fiscal 2012.
In Pennsylvania, York and Lancaster are using a portion of their CDBG funding to reduce blight and revitalize their historic downtowns. In the Lehigh Valley, the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton use these funds to encourage private sector investment in many of the projects ongoing in these communities. Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport and Hazleton use this funding to revitalize their urban cores and make much needed road improvements. In other parts of the state, communities like Altoona, Johnstown, State College, Erie, Sharon and others, have used these funds to bolster existing housing stock, reconstruct streets and improve water infrastructure. Among other activities, Philadelphia is using a portion of its CDBG funding to stem the foreclosure crisis while Pittsburgh uses some of its allocation to transform neighborhoods by promoting homeownership and affordable housing.
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