What Happened on the Way to the Trump Budget for Rural Development — The Story So Far.

The drumbeat for a dramatic re-ordering of federal rural development policy came with the release of the Trump Administration’s so-called “Skinny Budget” for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 in March. “Skinny” because it was short on details, the first budget of the Trump era proposed a $54 billion reduction in domestic discretionary spending with an increase
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President’s FY 2018 Skinny Budget Cuts Community Development by 37 Percent

Our preliminary analysis of the president’s FY 2018 Skinny Budget suggests a cut of $4.31 billion or nearly 37 percent to community and regional development outlays (subfunctions 451 and 452 in the federal budget). Most noteworthy, the proposal would eliminate the Economic Development Administration, cut $210 million from the CDFI Fund by eliminating all grant
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CDFI Coverage is Expanding

The two maps below show how CDFI coverage has grown over the past decade, particularly in rural areas. CDFI program award recipients, loans and investments, 2004-2009 CDFI program award recipients, loans and investments, 2010-2004
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Spotlight on the Intermediary Relending Program

The Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) was first enacted in the 1980s and has had remarkable success in strengthening rural communities through investment in local projects.  Because loan capital is revolved several times over the course of an IRP loan to an intermediary, USDA estimates that every $100,000 in IRP loan funds leads to the creation
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The Road Ahead

Last week, Treasury Secretary Lew wrote to Congressional Leaders informing them that the federal government will reach its statutory debt limit no later than November 5. Lew’s Letter With the enactment of the Continuing Resolution (CR) on September 30th, Congress now has two deadlines to meet, and in Washington, deadlines are the leading driver of
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