Proposed Spending Cuts Would Do Harm to Cities

Appropriators Hear of Support for CDBG, Impact Remains Uncertain

Funding Cuts Shrink Number of UASI Grants Available to Cities 

Senate Leaders Announce Vision for Transportation Authorization

Congressional Task Force Adds Voice in Support of Infrastructure Investment

Local Governments Asked to Comment on Regulatory Reform

As NLC recently reported, the House Appropriations Committee recently approved fiscal year 2012 spending limits, known as 302(b)s, for each of the 12 Appropriations Subcommittees that amount to nearly $47 billion less in available funding for federal programs important to cities and towns and the residents local governments serve. The Committee and each of the Subcommittees began considering legislation with these spending limits last week in a process Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) plans to complete by September 30, the end of this fiscal year.

Compared to FY 2011 actual spending levels, the House limits for FY 2012 would mean substantial disinvestment by the federal government in cities and towns. Essential programs, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership program, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, and Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program, as well as federal investment in highway, transit, education, workforce development and energy, would all take serious funding hits. In contrast, the spending limit for defense programs goes up by $17 billion under the House plan.

While House members are under pressure to advance these cuts, their spending plan failed to win support in the Senate, when Democrats and Republicans, including Sens. Scott Brown (MA), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rand Paul (KY), and Olympia Snowe (ME) opposed moving forward with it. However, it remains unclear what level of funding the Senate will support, since it also defeated a motion to proceed with the FY 2012 funding levels that President Obama proposed in February of this year, which were significantly higher than the House levels.  

As the appropriations subcommittees begin considering the individual bills, go to NLC's website to monitor the activity and to find out how you can help block cuts to these important programs.

Appropriators Hear of Support for CDBG, Impact Remains Uncertain
Mike Wallace, wallace@nlc.org, 202.626.3025

In recent weeks, NLC has mobilized support for housing and development programs important to cities and towns. These outreach efforts are particularly timely in advance of House Appropriations hearings scheduled for June and July, as these hearings will have a great impact on funding for essential programs such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnership. Along with letters from NLC, members of both the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) have heard from CDBG supporters including individual State Municipal Leagues and their own colleagues in Congress. 

On the House side, NLC joined with State Municipal Leagues with members represented on the THUD Subcommittee to send targeted letters of support for the CDBG and HOME programs. These letters have all been posted on NLC's website. Also available is an earlier "Dear Colleague" letter authored by Congressman Robert Brady (D-PA) and signed by 80 House members urging full funding for the CDBG program.

On the Senate side, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) coauthored a bipartisan"Dear Colleague" letter urging the Senate THUD Subcommittee to fund CDBG at the highest level possible. At the urging of local officials who responded to NLC action alerts, as well as NLC's coalition partners, 28 Senators joined the Leahy/Snowe letter.

NLC continues to encourage all local officials to call their Congressional Representatives to urge support for CDBG. Helpful resources are posted on NLC's CDBG website at www.nlc.org/CDBG.

Funding Cuts Shrink Number of UASI Grants Available to Cities
Mitchel Herckis, herckis@nlc.org, 202.626.3124 

On May 20, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released guidance for this year's state and local homeland security grants. As a result of significant cuts-$780 million-to homeland security funding in the FY 2011 budget, DHS eliminated 31 of last year's Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) cities or regions and consolidated two others into one. In all, the number of regions that receive UASI grants is being reduced from 64 to 31.

The cuts to DHS grants mean that cities of all sizes are likely to notice a decrease in the amount of formula funds they receive through State Homeland Security Program grants and other key programs. More specific grant numbers can be found on the DHS website.

Cities losing their UASI status in FY 2011 include: Tucson, Arizona; Oxnard and Bakersfield, California; Bridgeport and Hartford, Connecticut; Jacksonville, Florida; Honolulu, Hawaii; Indianapolis, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, and Syracuse, New York; Columbus and Toledo, Ohio; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Providence, Rhode Island; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Richmond, Virginia; and, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The House is considering additional cuts in FY 2012 and could reduce the number of eligible UASI cities to as few as 10. NLC will continue to oppose these cuts.

Senate Leaders Announce Vision for Transportation Authorization
Leslie Wollack, wollack@nlc.org, 202.626.3029

Last week, Senate transportation leaders offered their vision for a new six-year surface transportation program. The current legislation expired in September 2009, and Congress has resorted to seven short term extensions to keep the program operating.

In a joint announcement, top Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the panel with primary responsibility for rewriting the nation's surface transportation program, announced their commitment to invest in transportation as "an important responsibility of the federal government, in cooperation with state and local governments and the private sector."

Click here to view the full statement from Sens. Boxer (D-CA), Inhofe (R-OK), Baucus (D-MT), and Vitter (R-LA), and read more about the Senate plan in the May 30 edition of Nation's Cities Weekly.

Congressional Task Force Adds Voice in Support of Infrastructure Investment
Leslie Wollack, wollack@nlc.org, 202.626.3029

A new congressional task force brings together business leaders and elected officials concerned over the lack of investment in our nation's infrastructure. The New Democrat Coalition Critical Infrastructure and Manufacturing Task Force, led by Reps. Jason Altmire (PA), Rick Larsen (WA), and Laura Richardson (CA), is committed to enacting policies that boost manufacturing and strengthen our nation's infrastructure.

The Task Force released a proposal last week to shore up support for American manufacturing through investment in infrastructure, paving the way for long-term economic growth and job creation. The coalition's plan would leverage private dollars to support public investment in surface transportation projects and help U.S. manufacturers compete through a national infrastructure bank, capital budgeting, loan guarantees, extension of the popular Build America Bonds, streamlining of environmental permits, and use of federal dollars to keep existing infrastructure in a state of good repair.

The Coalition would also complete congressional action on reauthorization of federal aviation programs-which expired in September 2008 and have since been extended 19 times by Congress-including an increase in the Passenger Facility Charge, an important component of NLC's airport reauthorization policy. The group also supports investment in passenger rail, modernization of the nation's ports, a national freight transportation program, and mobility strategy.

Local Governments Asked to Comment on Regulatory Reform
Stephanie Spirer, spirer@nlc.org, 202.626.3030 

At the beginning of the year, President Obama issued Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, which called for federal agencies to enhance the regulatory process by ensuring that regulations "protect public health, welfare, safety and the environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation." The President ordered agencies to draft plans to determine whether their regulations should be streamlined, changed, or repealed to make each agency's regulatory program more efficient, effective and accountable.

Last week, federal agencies released their preliminary plans for conducting reviews of existing significant regulations. NLC will be reviewing the plans and submitting comments on them to the respective federal agencies with the goal of getting the federal government to reduce the burden unnecessary regulation has on local governments and taxpayers.

As the regulatory reform process moves forward, NLC will continue to post updates, guidance, and comments on www.nlc.org.