Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 7733, the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act, led by Representative Cleaver, who also is the chair of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance. The CDFI Fund's Bond Guarantee Program provides CDFIs with federally guaranteed, long-term, low-cost capital to support existing and new economic development projects in their communities. Unfortunately, small-sized CDFIs currently have difficulty applying for this financing directly because the current $100 million minimum financing amount is much higher than the amount many small CDFIs are seeking. As a result, some CDFIs can only access the program by applying with larger CDFIs. This bill would lower the minimum threshold for a bond issuance from $100 million to $25 million, giving smaller CDFIs a fairer shot at being able to access this program. This will help expand financing and investments to support small businesses, healthcare facilities, and affordable housing. This bill builds upon the work I led last Congress to provide CDFIs with $12 billion in equity and grant funding. In particular, that legislation, which has already distributed $1.25 billion to CDFIs, represented the largest public investment in CDFIs ever. Mr. Cleaver's bill complements those efforts by helping smaller CDFIs better access private dollars to further their efforts to serve low- income and underserved communities.…”