Proposed cuts to block grants could end local programs for poor, elderly

March 19--If President Trump's proposed elimination of the Community Development Block Grant program is approved, agencies like Community Action Partnership of North Alabama might have to close shop.

The president's proposed cuts slashes $6 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2018 -- eliminating the $3 billion Community Development Block Grant program, which provides public services like utilities, housing and food assistance to the low income and elderly.

Decatur's Community Development Department receives about $450,000 per year from the CDBG program, said city grants administrator Allen Stover.

Community Action receives about $500,000 from the CDBG program each year.

"These aren't giveaway programs. These programs help those in crisis," said Michael Tubbs, chief executive officer of Community Action Partnership.

Tubbs said he did not expect level funding this year, as the program has had for the past four to five years, but the president's proposal to eliminate the program was a surprise.

The city uses the block grants to fund public facilities and programs like Decatur Youth Services, the senior citizens program at Turner-Surles Community Resource Center, and to provide cold and heat relief programs for senior citizens without adequate heating and air conditioning, Stover said.

Community Action also uses the CDBG funds to provide energy assistance for elderly and low-income residents during summer and winter months.

If the CDBG program is cut from the federal budget, these programs will likely be cut as well, Tubbs said.

"If we cut energy assistance for vulnerable families, then this a health issue," Tubbs said. "There are not enough churches or private money to fund these programs."

Not only will these programs be cut, the staff to implement the programs will also lose their jobs.

"If I don't have grants, I don't have staff. We all go home, including me," Tubbs said.

Stover said a $6 billion cut to the HUD budget could prevent any future additions to public housing facilities.

However, the Trump administration is the not the first to propose major cuts to the Housing and Urban Development budget. Former President George W. Bush's administration proposed a 50 percent cut to the CDBG program that never made it through Congress.

"We have to remember that this is still just a proposal," Stover said.

He said he hopes Congress will recognize the need for programs funded by block grants as lawmakers give them a closer look.

Tubbs said his hope is that Congress will take a "compassionate conservative" view of the CDBG.

"I don't want our country to spend more than we make. But some of programs that are proposed to be cut take the heart out of what country we are," he said. "I believe in good national defense and homeland security, but a cut is easier to manage in incremental steps rather than all at once."

The Head Start and Early Head Start programs for low-income children, which provide services for more than 2,000 children in north Alabama, would not be affected by the president's proposal, Tubbs said.

Decatur's Meals on Wheels program also would not be affected by the cuts, he said, since Decatur's program is funded by local support and United Way.

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