TITLE
A Resolution of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, urging Congress to refuse to enact proposed cuts in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
BODY
WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County together received more than $40 million annually under the CDBG program, and used this funding for projects that either eliminated slums and blight or benefited low to moderate income people; and
WHEREAS, projects funded through the CDBG program ranged from the demolition of dilapidated houses to repair of collapsed sewer lines to the affordable senior housing projects which were built along Sixth Street in Duquesne; and
WHEREAS, in the proposed $2.77 trillion budget for 2007 that the Bush administration delivered to Congress last week, the President is seeking to cut the CDBG program by approximately 20 percent, according to analyses by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and
WHEREAS, this significant cut in funding to the CDBG program continues the Administration's established practice of attempting to reduce funding for the program, with efforts such as the President's proposed merger of the block grant program with 17 other programs under the authority of the Commerce Department and reducing the level of funding, which was $4.7 billion for the community development grants alone, to $3.7 billion for the grants as well as the 17 other programs; and
WHEREAS, the President also sought significant cuts in the community grants last year, but Congress refused to cut the program's funding by more than 11 percent; and
WHEREAS, in the past four years, Allegheny County's CDBG funding has been cut by about a $3 million, from $19.5 million in 2003 to $16.6 million in 2006, with near-catastrophic effects upon communities that rely upon this funding for projects that constitute basic civic necessities; and
WHEREAS, last year, 127 municipalities throughout Allegheny County submitted more than 450 requests for funding through the CDBG program, but due to past funding cuts, the County was able to approve only about half of these requests; and
WHEREAS, the cuts for 2007 are being proposed even as defense spending is still costing the nation about $5 billion a month, and the President's tax cuts will cost an estimated $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years if continued;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby resolves as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Council of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, expresses its belief that additional cuts to this vitally important program would not benefit the neediest segments of the community, and urges Congress to refuse to adopt any additional proposed reduction in the level of funding for the CDBG program.
SECTION 2.
The Council of Allegheny County further resolves that this Resolution be provided to the President and members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate who represent Allegheny County as an expression of this County's desire to retain the Community Development Block Grant program in its existing form.
SECTION 3.
If any provision of this Resolution shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Resolution which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 4.
Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Resolution is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Resolution.