Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014

Floor Speech

Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to the devastating funding cuts to the Transportation and Housing initiatives in this appropriations bill, and particularly the cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG).

Established nearly forty years ago, the CDBG program provides State and local governments across the country with the funding and flexibility to most effectively target resources to local community development needs.

The only Federal program of its kind, since 1974, the CDBG program has invested $135 billion in local communities.

And, in addition to being a critical factor in national economic growth, this program has assisted States and local governments in achieving the kinds of infrastructure projects, job creation and poverty elimination that our communities so desperately need.

In this Chamber, there is often talk of the need to make government more efficient, and reduce wasting taxpayer dollars.

Well, I'm happy to report that this program does just that--it continues to be one of HUD's most efficient programs--with grantees devoting on average 94 percent of CDBG funds directly to efforts that provide benefits to low-to moderate-income families.

Within my district in Franklin County Ohio, CDBG funding has been used for housing rehabilitation, micro-enterprise assistance, ADA compliance, and revitalization of downtown Columbus. These developments have made a real difference in my community.

The City of Whitehall has removed and replaced about thirty-three-hundred feet of curb and gutter along Bernhard Road, enhancing water runoff management in the area--preventing pooling water and possible disease or outbreak.

Recent projects have provided 650 households with access to public transit--public transit that many families use to get to and from work and stores all of which improves the local economy as a whole.

And CDBG funds have given 1400 families in Franklin County, Ohio access to clean, safe drinking water--a project that would have been nearly impossible otherwise because local revenues were just not available.

I'm proud to say that Franklin County continues to leverage $5.30 for infrastructure development for every dollar of CDBG funding it receives, but with the draconian cuts to CDBG contained in this bill, there's simply no way that we can make up the difference.

That's why the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, the National Housing Trust, the Community Development Finance Authority, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Development Organizations, the YWCA, Rebuilding Together, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, the American Planning Association, and the Council of State Community Development Agencies have all written in strong support of CDBG funding and the programs it sustains.

And yet, here we are considering an appropriations bill that would literally cut the program in half.

The proposed funding level would be less than when CDBG was first authorized in 1974.

This would tip many low- to moderate-income Americans over the brink into poverty and would negatively impact our communities and our country.

So I stand here today--with my colleagues--strongly opposed to the funding level cuts contained in this appropriations bill.

The Chairman of the T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, Representative Latham, has said ``cutting over $7 billion in programs was very challenging.''

I say this to my Republican colleagues, if cutting these programs was hard--I can assure you, the children, seniors, and families directly helped by CDBG programs will have a much more challenging time dealing with the effects of over $7 billion in cuts.

I urge opposition to this bill.

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