Forty-three senators are asking their colleagues to set aside at least $324 million for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and require those funds to be released in a timely manner.
The Trump administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 calls on Congress to trim the CDFI Fund’s budget by $204.5 million, or roughly two-thirds of the program’s current budget. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget only recently released the fund’s appropriations for fiscal year 2025. The administration accuses the CDFI Fund of promoting a “partisan” agenda and instead wants its remaining awards directed at rural communities.
In a letter led by the chairs of the Bipartisan Senate CDFI Caucus, the senators request that the Senate Appropriations Committee instead budget at least $324 million for the program, which would maintain its current funding level. They also requested that the legislation include a provision requiring the fund to establish a schedule for publication of applications to make the awards consistent with congressional intent.
“Through its unique public-private partnership model, the CDFI Fund’s award recipients successfully leverage billions in private-sector investment to create jobs, build affordable housing and essential community facilities, and invest in neighborhood revitalization initiatives,” the senators said. “CDFIs turn every public dollar into roughly eight dollars of private investment, using a small federal investment to deliver billions in private capital and affordable financial services to underinvested communities.”
