Weakening the SACI proposal

A bulletin from the CDFI Coalition (not yet online) brings further word that the Strengthening America's Communities Initiative is weakening. It says the House Appropriations subcommittee with the amazing new handle of "Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Columbia" ("TT/HUD" for short) has just endorsed $55 million for the CDFI Fund, which under the Bush Administration budget proposal would have gotten no grant money at all, just an administrative budget a hair under $8 million to run the New Markets Tax Credit. Today's action still doesn't match the $80 million that 54 Senators have endorsed, but it's close to what the Fund got last year.

SACI is the Bush Administration proposal to melt down all the community development grant programs into one pot and distribute the money under a new formula -- a move that some viewed from the start as simply a gambit to make community development advocates work harder for their usual appropriations. For some time, Congress has been plugging along reauthorizing the existing grant programs, while the SACI advisory and drafting process continues alongside. Per the CDFI Coalition's understanding, the SACI advisory committee still intends to hand in its recommendations and the Bush Administration will be sending proposed legislation to Congress "before the end of the month." But if it's going to pass at all, it probably won't be any time soon.