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From: Ed Gramlich
email: mailto:gramliche@commchange.org
link: http://www.communitychange.org
date: April 2, 2001
Date: 4/2/01
Time: 10:38:15 AM
Remote Name: 216.135.217.149
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT RENEWAL ACT One-Page Capsule Presentation
Rep. Carrie Meek of Miami introduced a bill to improve CDBG by focusing more of the money for low income people, and by increasing the opportunity for nonprofits to foster public participation. Here is what it does:
1. Increases the "Primary Objective" to 80% benefit to lower income people. The "Primary Objective" of CDBG is to "principally" benefit lower income people. Currently that means 70% of a jurisdiction's CDBG must benefit lower income people. The increase to 80%, along with other features of the bill, strengthens Congressional intent that, in the wake of a severe affordable housing crisis and changes in welfare law, CDBG must "principally" benefit lower income people. It signals that use of CDBG for airport runways, Post Offices, museums, and miles of concrete are not Congress's intent.
2. Requires a minimum of 40% of a jurisdiction's CDBG to directly benefit "low income" people (below 50% of the areawide median). Even though ConPlans universally show that "extremely low" and "low" income people have the most acute needs, few jurisdictions allocate a fair share to meet those needs.
3. Creates a new specific eligible CDBG activity: use by nonprofit organizations representing lower income people to promote or provide public participation, or to monitor use of CDBG. This use will not be subject to the 20% administration and planning cap, or the 15% public service cap.
4. Adds existing regs language to the statute in order to better assure that lower income people truly benefit from "area wide" activities such as roads. Specifically, it limits use of the "area benefit test" to areas that are "primarily residential" (i.e. downtown is not eligible); and, it looks at "the full range of direct effects" in assessing whether an activity truly benefits lower income people. (For more details see CCC website.)
5. Eliminates the "presumption" that lower income people benefit from economic development just because employees live in areas that have a 70% lower income concentration or meet the definition of an empowerment zone (or if the business itself is in the latter). Businesses getting CDBG still have to ensure that at least 51% of any new or retained jobs are for lower income people.
6. Defines a public hearing as a hearing held in accordance with state and local laws. Often, so-called public hearings are not attended by elected officials, depriving low income people a forum to convey their concerns and priorities to those most responsible.
For more information contact: Ed Gramlich, CCC, 202-342-0567 or gramliche@commchange.org. See more detailed descriptions at CCC's website, www.communitychange.org the CDBG page under News Alerts.