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Senate blocks rescission bill, protects CDFI funding
The Senate yesterday blocked legislation that would have rescinded $142 million from the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) program. The CMF cuts were part of a deficit-reduction rescission package that would have revoked $15 billion of previous years' unspent funds.
The House passed the rescission bill earlier this month. The Senate needed a procedural vote to discharge it from committee, but the vote failed 48-50.
The CMF provides grants to help community institutions, such as credit unions, provide affordable housing solutions. NAFCU has lobbied for Congress to fully fund the CDFI in order to ensure credit unions can continue to provide financial stability for low-income members and their families.
Tuesday, a Senate Appropriations subcommittee advanced its version of the fiscal year 2019 financial services and general government (FSGG) appropriations bill that included full funding ($250 million) for the CDFI Fund. The House version of the FSGG bill, which was recently advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee, contains $191 million for the CDFI program.