By Eugene T. Lowe
November 21, 2011

In spite of a year-long effort to preserve funding for CDBG, mayors and their cities will again face a devastating cut to their most popular community development program in 2012. The House and Senate conference on the FY 2012 spending measure that includes both housing and transportation programs (along with two other spending bills in what is called a Minibus) cut the CDBG program from its FY 2011 level of $3.34 billion to $2.948 billion in FY 2012, a 12 percent cut. At issue during the appropriations conference was the House approved funding for CDBG at $3.5 billion and the Senate recommended level of $2.85 billion. On November 9, mayors came to Washington for a CDBG Lobby Day to urge the Senate to accept the House funding of $3.5 billion.

But mayors were stunned to learn later that the House and Senate conference did not even split the difference between the two amounts.

Mayors participating in the lobby day effort included Newton Mayor Setti Warren, Chair of the Conference of Mayors Community Development and Housing Committee, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Vice Chair of the Conference of Mayors Community Development and Housing Committee, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler, Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran, and other Conference of Mayors staff. Senators John Kerry (MA), Frank Lautenberg (NJ) and Bob Casey (PA) were visited and encouraged to speak to Senator Patty Murray (WA), Chair of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, about accepting $3.5 billion for CDBG as recommended by the House.

Leading up to the November 9 Lobby Day, mayors across the nation contacted their congressional representatives and senators. In addition, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin came to Washington (DC) in October to lobby his Senators from Wisconsin, Herb Kohl and Ron Johnson, both of whom are on the transportation and housing subcommittee. Cownie made repeated trips to Washington to talk to his Senator Tom Harkin (IA) and Representative Tom Latham (IA), Chair of the House subcommittee on transportation and housing, the subcommittee which approved funding CDBG at $3.5 billion.

Also Conference of Mayors President Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Conference of Mayors Vice President Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Warren, Cownie and Cochran spoke to the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Daniel Inouye, in a conference call arranged and moderated by County of Hawaii Mayor William P. Kenoi. The mayors urged Inouye to push for a $3.5 billion funding level for CDBG.

Congress also cut the HOME Investment Partnerships program to $1 billion, a drastic 38 percent cut from its funding level in FY 2011 of $1.6 billion. The Public Housing Capital Fund is reduced by eight percent from $2 billion in FY 2011 to $1.875 billion in FY 2012. The Public Housing Operating Fund is also reduced from $4.617 billion in FY 2011 to $3.962 billion in FY 2012, a 14 percent cut. The bill allows HUD to use $750 million in excess reserves to meet additional public housing operating needs. Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS is slightly reduced from $334.3 million to $332 million, a one percent decrease. Homelessness Assistance Grants are level funded, remaining at $1.901 billion. Section 8 Tenant Based Rental Assistance is increased by three percent from $18.3 billion to $18.9 billion. Finally, the CDBG administrative cap, which the House had recommended a reduction of ten percent was rejected. Communities will be able to continue to use 20 percent of their CDBG funds for administrative costs.