Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Slashed by $2.9 Billion—a More Than 60 Percent Cut—in House Republican Budget

 

CDBG Funds Support a Wide Variety of Ohio Projects

in Working & Middle-Class Communities; Ohio Would Lose More Than $100 Million in Funds Under Republican Plan

AKRON, OH – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton (OH-13), and Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic held a news conference today at Dave’s Supermarket in downtown Akron to outline how the House Republican budget would have a drastic effect on job-creating economic development initiatives in Ohio communities.

House Republicans slashed the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program by $2.9 billion in their Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal. In Fiscal Year 2010, Ohio received more than $174.2 million in CDBG funds, but under the Republican budget, Ohio would stand to receive only $66.3 million in 2011, a cut of nearly 62 percent.

“The best way to reduce the deficit is to get people working again,” Brown said. “There are 15 million Americans who would rather pay taxes than collect unemployment insurance. Dozens of Ohio communities, including Akron, have leveraged Community Development Block Grant funds to create jobs and attract employers. Thanks to CDBG funds, Dave’s Supermarket has brought 180 jobs and economic recovery to this corner of the city. This investment is a prime example of local communities creating local jobs and spurring the local economy in partnership with the federal government. But with the House Republican budget, all of this success—the jobs created, the economy that’s recovering—would be at risk.”

“The Community Development Block Grant program is essential to help our communities retain small businesses, make critical infrastructure improvements and promote neighborhood development,” Sutton said. “These targeted investments create job opportunities for our people and recklessly cutting them when local governments need them the most would be a serious mistake.”

“The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program has been the signature partnership between the federal government and local government to create jobs, increase economic development opportunities, expand home ownership, and maintain neighborhoods,” Plusquellic said. “The proposals to reduce or eliminate CDBG would impact people where they live. Neighborhoods in Akron are better today because of the investments we've made with CDBG funds.”

Dave’s Supermarket, as part of the Middlebury Grocery and Shopping Center Development Project, received nearly $1 million in CDBG funds to locate in East Akron. Not only did Dave’s Supermarket bring 180 part- and full-time jobs to Akron, but now provides a source of fresh produce and groceries to an area that had been lacking in a similar outlet previously. Dave’s Supermarket serves approximately 23,000 homes within a 2-mile radius market area. CDBG funds were awarded from City of Akron to the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation; the majority of the nearly $1 million in funds were used to purchase the supermarket and retail space site.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, run through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides communities with direct funds to address a wide range of unique community & economic development needs. More information about CDBG can be found here.

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