Please review the attached draft letter. Due to the urgency to get the letter to the field as soon as possible and to give us time to collect the 2,000 signatures, we suggest that you send it out immediately. We have also attached a draft letter that can be modified and sent along with the letter asking for signatures. It incorporates some of the goals we discussed last Friday.

A conference call has been set up for Friday, March 12 at 4:00 p.m. To access the call, dial 1(800)526-7151 and ask for the CDBG/HOME call.

Thanks!

February 23, 1999

Dear Member:

Enclosed is a draft letter that the CDBG and HOME Coalition has prepared to send to the chairmen of the Appropriations Subcommittees on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies in Congress. For the past several years, we have successfully advocated for funding for these two programs.

Thanks to your past support, each year we have gathered about 1,000 signatures in support of increased funding. This year we need your help more than ever.

Fiscal Year 2000 marks the 25^th anniversary of CDBG and the 10^th anniversary of HOME. It is also the beginning of the millennium. In celebration of the tremendous contributions these two programs have made to our communities, we have set a goal of 2,000 signatures on the letters we are sending to the chairmen this year. To reach this goal, we need your help. Please sign the attached letter to show that CDBG and HOME are appreciated and used and that the two programs deserve to be funded at increased levels - $5 billion for CDBG and $1.8 for HOME.

Please provide us with the name of your organization and the city and state in which it is located. Mayors are encouraged to give their full names in addition to name of their city and the state in which it is located.

Your response must be received by March 19, 1999.

Thanks for your support.

The Honorable James Walsh
Chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs,
Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Christopher Bond
Chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs,
Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Mr. Chairman:

This year two significant housing and community development programs reach a milestone. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is celebrating its 25^th anniversary and the Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME), its 10^th anniversary! Over the years, these two programs have made many contributions to communities across the country. In light of the historic success of there programs we ask you to support a Fiscal Year 2000 appropriation for CDBG of $5 billion and the HOME program of $1.8 billion.

States and localities are allocated CDBG and HOME funds through a formula basis and the funds are used for housing and community economic development projects. These two programs have helped change hundreds of communities across America, revitalizing depressed neighborhoods and restoring hope to millions of low-income people.

Localities use CDBG funds to promote economic growth, maintain community facilities, meet basic human services and preserve affordable housing for the benefit of low and moderate income people. CDBG allows states and localities to recycle program benefits for use beyond the current fiscal year -- a single revolving loan fund to local small businesses will continue to provide much needed capital for many years. The program creates a positive climate for business investment, generating jobs and tax revenues. Finally, cities and states frequently leverage their CDBG funds with private resources, which builds public-private partnerships and provides millions of dollars in additional benefits.

Between FY93 and FY96 an estimated 14 to 17 million households benefitted from the CDBG program and approximately 114,799 jobs were created through economic development activities. Recent CDBG grant performance reports have found that for every 10% of CDBG funds spent for direct assistance to individuals and households, 1,093 million people and households are affected.

The HOME program, enacted ten years ago with bipartisan support, is a federal partnership with state and local governments, private for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and community housing development organizations (CHDO's) to produce affordable housing. The HOME program's flexibility allows state and local governments to develop housing programs that meet the unique needs of their local communities. Projects funded with HOME funds range from home ownership and rental housing developments to rehabilitation to new construction. This variety reflects the diversity of housing needs in communities across the nation and the HOME program's ability to meet such needs.

While the HOME program's flexibility is vital to its success locally, its ability to leverage other sources of financing makes it crucial to local housing development efforts. For instance, in 1997, states and local communities leveraged more than $1.80 in public and private funds for every dollar of HOME funding. This leveraging had achieved a total of $8.5 billion in housing investments since the program's inception.

The majority of HOME funds have been committed to housing for very low-income people and a substantial amount assists families with incomes no greater than 30% of area median income. At the end of September 1997, 54% of all HOME-assisted rental housing (including tenant-based rental assistance) was helping families with incomes at or below 30% of area median income. More than 90% of HOME-assisted rental housing is benefitting families at or below 50% of area median income. This means nearly one in three home buyers, seven in ten homeowners (almost half of them elderly) and about nine in ten renters who HOME assists earn 50% or less of area median income.

These programs give states and localities the resources to meet their housing and community economic development needs in urban, suburban and rural areas alike. The formula basis for distribution ensures that jurisdictions receive a share of the funding commensurate with their needs. But, equally important, is that funding for the CDBG and HOME programs helps the jurisdictions leverage additional resources and create effective partnerships between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

CDBG and HOME are central to the nation's housing and community development efforts. We urge Congress to join us in this historic year and fully fund these two programs that have successfully transformed communities across the country, changing the lives of million of Americans.

Please give our request of $5 billion for CDBG and $1.8 billion for HOME serious consideration.

Sincerely,

Chandra Western
Acting Director