Emanuel Cleaver: “I thank Chairwoman Waters for her longstanding support of CDFIs. I speak today in support of my bill, the CDFI Bond…”

“I thank Chairwoman Waters for her longstanding support of CDFIs. I speak today in support of my bill, the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act of 2022, which would open up a significant source of long-term, low-cost capital to support CDFI projects in low-income urban, rural, and indigenous areas of the country. Community development financial institutions, CDFIs, deliver critical lending opportunities to low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color. CDFIs are banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions that provide products and services specifically aimed at the needs of low-income and marginalized communities and are certified by the CDFI fund, which is operated by the United States Department of the Treasury. CDFIs support people and businessowners in underserved communities by providing affordable capital to communities typically excluded from the mainstream financial system. According to Treasury, in 2019, 33 percent of CDFI lending was in high poverty areas, nearly 75 percent of lending was to underserved populations and distressed areas, and 17 percent was to rural areas. I think that ought to make all the people committed to this concept of everybody participating quite happy. CDFIs in my district, including Central Bank of Kansas City, LISC of Greater Kansas City, AltCap, and others, are instrumental in the effort to narrow the racial wealth gap and increase financial opportunities in underserved communities.…”