Federation President/CEO Clifford N. Rosenthal

(April 12, 2011 - New York, NY) The Continuing Resolution that would set the budget for the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, ending September 30, 2011, calls for total funding of $227 million for the CDFI Fund (with an additional 0.2% across-the-board cut that is still pending).  This is a $20 million reduction compared to the budget enacted for FY 2010, and a $23 million reduction compared to the requested amount for FY 2011.  While we do not have additional details yet, we believe that the essential CDFI Fund programs for financial and technical assistance will remain significantly above historical averages for the Fund.

Especially in light of the devastating cuts that other federal programs have faced, we take this as a strong statement of Obama Administration support for the CDFI Fund. On the other hand, the Federation is extremely concerned about the $88 million cuts slated for Housing Counseling Assistance under the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The Federation operates a major housing counseling program through which as many as 16 credit unions offer critically needed counseling programs in their communities.  These cuts would cause many housing counseling programs to close their doors on October 1st of this year, severely reducing the supply of responsible counseling services in communities across the country.  We believe these cuts would be a tragic misstep in the midst of our continuing housing crisis.

The program would remain intact for this year, since it lags one fiscal year behind in funding.  However, if the cuts are applied as stated, there would be significant program reductions next year.

© 2011 National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.