House remains silent on CDFI funding

WASHINGTON – The House subcommittee which recommends appropriations for the CDFI Fund has still not revealed what the next fiscal year’s level might be or set a date for marking up an appropriation proposal, according to Jennifer Vasiloff, executive director of the CDFI Coalition. Everyone seems to be waiting for the House to finish setting an appropriations level for the Health and Human Services bill, Vasiloff said, and staffers are being quiet about what the funding recommendation might be since they don’t want to draw too much criticism too early. The Senate has recommended an appropriations level of only $73 million for next year, compared to the $100 million recommended last year. Last year Congress favored the House’s suggested appropriation of $80 million and the CDFI Coalition fears it could do so again with a drastically lower number. The appropriations question is currently before the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee for HUD, VA and independent agencies, Vasiloff said.