Sign On Letter To Protect Annual Funding For The CDFI Fund

(Download)

February 18, 2025

The Honorable Bill Hagerty
Chair
Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services & General Government
US Senate
251 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable David Joyce
Chair
Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services & General Government
US House of Representatives
2065 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member
Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services & General Government
US Senate
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Steny Hoyer
Ranking Member
Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services & General Government
US House of Representatives
1705 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chair Hagerty, Chair Joyce, Ranking Member Reed, and Ranking Member Hoyer,

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and our undersigned member organizations request you to support annual funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) under the Department of Treasury and reject cuts to important CDFI Programs: New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) Program, the CDFI Technical and Financial Assistance Program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA). 

As Congressional appropriations are finalized, we ask that the CDFI Fund receive $354 million to support the ongoing work of generating economic growth and opportunity in the nation’s most distressed and underserved communities. 

We also ask that you urge Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to reject the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) recommendation to cancel external contracts to evaluate applications for the New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) Program, the CDFI Technical Assistance/Financial Assistance Program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program. A halt in reviewing applicants and disbursement of funds will disrupt thousands of CDFIs’ ability to deliver critical services, such as small business lending and affordable housing development.

These programs have made an indelible impact across America: in urban cities, rural towns, and Native American tribal lands. In 2023, the NMTC program allocated $72 billion to community development entities, including CDFIs, resulting in 8,500 projects, such as creating necessary community facilities like health centers, schools, and daycare centers. The CDFI Program’s technical/financial assistance grants financed more than 109,000 businesses, provided funding for the development of more than 45,000 affordable housing units, and originated more than $24 billion in loans and investments for working Americans in 2024. Further, the NACA program granted CDFIs $221 million to provide loans and investments to small businesses and housing developers in Native American communities.

Investing in CDFIs should not be a partisan issue. CDFIs exist in both Democrat-majority districts and Republican-majority districts and have helped working Americans, regardless of their political party, to access affordable loans and investments. CDFIs are the lifeblood of local economies: they increase the supply of low-cost housing, finance small businesses, and create decent-wage jobs, all of which are aligned with the Trump Administration’s priorities. NCRC and its members request that the CDFI Fund receive $354 million in appropriations and that its contracts to evaluate applications for major programs be continued.

Sincerely,
National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC)
Others