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Over 200 communities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have received grants or assistance through the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Partnership has helped communities plan for growth that will strengthen their regions and their economies, but funding for the program is under threat in 2012’s federal budget.

Speak out for these communities: Tell the Senate to fund the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Smart Growth America’s coalition member the Northeast-Midwest Institute, a national non-profit dedicated to promoting economic vitality, environmental quality, and equity in 18 Northeastern and Midwestern states from Wisconsin to Maine, recently sent a message to its members about how Congress’s proposed cuts to the Partnership would impact the states it serves:

The total amount appropriated to regional projects for these programs so far is at least $1 billion. If the programs also deliver their intended benefits to the recipient communities, their value to the region would go well beyond this dollar amount.

NEMWI talks about Pontiac, Michigan, which won $300,000 to draft plans for connecting neighborhoods and downtown with transit. Or the city of Newport, Rhode Island, which won funding to improve sideawalks and calm traffic along Broadway, the town’s main street.

These are just a few of the towns that would be impacted by the proposed cuts. If you haven’t yet, please write or call your Senator to express your support for the Partnership for Sustainable Communtiies today.

Read more NEMWI’s analysis of how the proposed cuts would impact their 18 states at www.nemw.org.