News

Leaders in the House of Representatives declared their plans this week to cut funds to many key programs that create jobs, strengthen communities and lay the groundwork to keep America competitive in the 21st century.

Tell the House of Representatives: Don’t balance the budget at the cost of our communities!

In a time of financial straits, Congress does need to cut wasteful and outdated programs – but it is unacceptable that effective programs that help rebuild our economy are being considered for elimination.

Among the cuts on the butcher’s block are funds that help our rural, suburban and urban communities create more housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops and schools, support our local economies and protect the environment, including:

• Elimination of funds for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s HOPE VI program, which serves a vital role in HUD’s efforts to transform public housing into strong communities.
• Elimination of funds for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program, which helps states and communities to prevent, assess, safely cleanup, and reuse abandoned land to strengthen local economies.
• Restriction on funds for HUD’s Community Development Fund, including limiting the funds to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Programs and preventing funds from going to the Sustainable Communities Initiative.
• Rescindment of unobligated funds for HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, which improves access to affordable housing, increases transportation options and lowers transportation costs while supporting communities nationwide.
• Rescindment of the Department of Transportation’s unobligated TIGER II funds, aimed at strengthening the economy and creating jobs, reducing gridlock and providing safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable transportation choices.

Effective programs like the ones under threat create more jobs per dollar spent and help rebuild our economy. Smart Growth America is working hard to prevent these cuts, but we need your help.

Speak out: Tell your Representative to reject cuts to smart economic investments.

Cutting spending shouldn’t come at the cost of our communities’ economic health. These proposals are a short-sighted recipe for prolonging America’s economic problems and won’t help the federal budget OR taxpayers.

Join the fight to keep our economy moving in the right direction: Speak out today.