President’s Budget Rolls Back Spending to Near FY 2023 Levels
Proposed federal budget recommends $325 million for the CDFI Fund for fiscal year 2025, while the final FY 2024 bill provides level funding.
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On March 11, President Biden released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2025. The requested budget recommends $325 million for the CDFI Fund – $16 million less than the President proposed in FY 2024. This would roll back funding to just $1 million over FY 2023 levels. The CDFI Fund request includes a $10 million appropriation for a credit subsidy for the Bond Guarantee Program for the second year in a row, a long-time priority for OFN.
In addition to the proposed CDFI Fund budget, the proposal also touches other CDFI priorities. The President’s budget supports the following:
- Making the New Markets Tax Credit permanent and formalizing allocation incentives
- Creating a new $270 million Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit
- Expanding and enhancing the Low-Income Housing Credit
- Improving and reauthorizing the Bond Guarantee Program, consistent with bipartisan legislation (S. 869)
- Providing over $58 billion in lending through the Small Business Administration, including in 7(a) and 504 loan guarantee programs and creating a new lending program to address gaps in small dollar lending
- Providing $323.6 million for the Environmental Justice Program at the Environmental Protection Agency
- Requesting $1 billion for loan guarantees for renewable energy systems, energy efficiency improvements for rural small businesses and farmers, as well as $6.5 billion for rural electric loans to support additional clean energy, storage, and transmission through USDA
Nearly six months after the start of the fiscal year, the final FY 2024 bill was signed into law on March 23. The bill provides level funding for the CDFI Fund of $324 million.
OFN will continue to collaborate with our partners to advocate for the highest possible level of grant funding for CDFIs across various federal agencies, with a focus on the CDFI Fund.
On April 17, OFN will hold a webinar to provide a policy update and discuss how to get involved in advocacy. Stay tuned for registration details!
Visit our policy action center for information, tools, and other resources to help you advocate on behalf of CDFIs and the communities they serve.
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