Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5129 - Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2022

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House Rules)
(Rep. Bonamici, D-OR, and 126 cosponsors)

The Administration supports the poverty-fighting goals of H.R. 5129, the Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2022, to provide states, territories, and Tribes with resources for critical community services. This legislation will reauthorize the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) for a decade and help ensure that communities have the tools they need to fight poverty and build economic mobility.

The CSBG has been supporting tribal and local governments and community organizations across the country for over 50 years with funding to help them serve low-income individuals and families. Local administration of some of the most essential community programs—such as job training and placement, food and nutrition assistance, Head Start, housing and homelessness assistance, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program—is supported by CSBG funds. While these services and strategies have always been key to helping Americans get ahead and stay ahead, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored just how vital it is to invest in the organizations that deliver them. Faced with unprecedented demand and the operational challenges of the pandemic, the more than 1,000 organizations supported by CSBG continued working to help low-income communities address housing and food insecurity, provide high-quality early childhood education, and support individuals re-entering the workforce. Now, as this Administration works to build a strong and equitable recovery, it is more important than ever to invest in in locally based solutions to the causes and conditions of poverty in communities.

The CSBG update proposed by this Act would result in greater equity for Tribes, expanded income eligibility data modernization, strengthened performance management, and support for community-based services and strategies. In addition, this Act would support new broadband navigator efforts and continues critical support for community economic development and rural development activities. And reauthorizing CSBG for the first time since 1998 would provide organizations and the millions of families they serve with the confidence and stability to make the long-term investments communities need.

The Administration looks forward to working with Congress to ensure that this bipartisan legislation achieves its purposes, continues expanding opportunity for all Americans, and ultimately is enacted.