HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

102

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

URGING THE UNITED STATEs CONGRESS NOT TO CUT FEDERAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING AS PROPOSED BY THE ADMINISTRATION IN THE 2006 FISCAL YEAR FEDERAL BUDGET and to support its restoration into the department of housing and urban development budget at its current funding level of $4,700,000,000.

 

 

WHEREAS, the federal Community Development Block Grant Program (Program) was initiated with the passage of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-383, and is one of the oldest programs in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and

WHEREAS, the Program provides annual grants on a formula basis to many different types of grantees through several programs such as:

(1) Entitlement Communities, which provides annual grants on a formula basis to entitled cities and counties to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons;

(2) State Administered Community Development Block Grant, which awards grants only to units of general local government that carry out development activities in participating states that develop annual funding priorities and criteria for selecting projects;

(3) Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program, which allows Program entitlement communities to apply for a guarantee, and is available to Program non-entitlement communities if its state agrees to pledge the block grant funds necessary to secure the loan;

(4) Department of Housing and Urban Development-Administered Small Cities Program for non-entitlement areas in the State of Hawaii directly administered by HUD's Hawaii State Office in Honolulu;

(5) Insular Areas Program, which provides grants to four designated areas, including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands;

(6) Disaster Recovery Assistance, in which HUD provides flexible grants to help cities, counties, and states recover from disasters declared by the President, especially in low-income areas, subject to availability of supplemental appropriations;

(7) Colonias, which allows Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico to set aside up to ten percent of their state Program funds for use in colonias; and

(8) Renewal Communities/Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities, a program with an innovative approach to revitalization, bringing communities together through public and private partnerships to attract the investment necessary for sustainable economic and community development;

and

WHEREAS, to be eligible, not less than 70 percent of the Community Development Block Grant funds must be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons over a one-, two-, or three-year period selected by the grantee; and

WHEREAS, all activities must meet one of the following national objectives to be eligible for the Program:

(1) Benefit low- and moderate-income persons;

(2) Prevention or elimination of slums or blight; and

(3) Community development needs having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community;

and

WHEREAS, the Program works largely without fanfare or recognition to ensure decent affordable housing for all, to provide services to the most vulnerable in our communities, and to create jobs and expand business opportunities; and

WHEREAS, the Program is an important tool in helping local governments tackle the most serious challenges facing their communities and has made a difference in the lives of millions of people living in communities all across this country; and

WHEREAS, the fiscal year 2006 budget offered by the Bush Administration eliminates the Program in its entirety by combining it along with 17 other programs into two new programs, reducing funding for the consolidated programs to $3,700,000,000 and moving them to the Department of Commerce, which has no experience in community development; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu, and the counties of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai all receive Program grants from HUD and have used the grants to provide a plethora of much-needed facilities and services that have benefited low- and moderate-income household across the State; and

WHEREAS, elimination of the Program has been denounced by the United States Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, National League of Cities, National Community Development Association, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature expresses its strong support of the Program and urges the United States Congress not to cut federal Program funding as proposed by the Bush Administration in the fiscal year 2006 federal budget and to support its restoration into the HUD budget at its current funding level of $4,700,000,000; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice-President of the United States, Speaker of the United State House of Representatives, members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation, HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, Governor, and mayor of each county.

Report Title:

Community Development Block Grants; Urge No Federal Cuts