The Trump administration’s attempt to shutter the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund contradicts Congress’ express instructions and threatens a vital and bipartisan promoter of local economic growth, leading community development advocates said.
“The CDFI Fund is one of the most bipartisan and highest-leverage tools we have to revitalize neglected American neighborhoods,” said Jesse Van Tol, President and CEO of NCRC. “Attacking that popular and effective program ignores the will of Congress. And it undermines funding for hundreds of thousands of small businesses that could otherwise help propel local economic growth all across the country.”
The CDFI Fund financed more than 109,000 small businesses and aided the construction of more than 45,000 units of affordable housing in the last fiscal year alone. News of the late-night executive order attempting to cancel the venerated 30-year-old program has prompted outcry from Sens. Mike Crapo (R) and Mark Warner (D), the credit unions that serve military families, the Opportunity Finance Network and numerous others.
“The CDFI Fund is a force multiplier for locally-determined economic and civic growth,” said Mac McNeil, Executive Director of the NCRC Community Development Fund (NCRC-CDF) “CDFI-guided local investments are fundamentally different from more widely-known government tactics for growth, such as tax incentives to lure large corporations. CDFIs promote locally-owned firms whose tighter connections to their communities allow their businesses and their hiring to spark sustained, self-sufficient growth. It’s one of the few things that has consistently united constituencies that are often opposed in these policy areas.”
Photo by Dani Marroquin on Unsplash
