WASHINGTON–Two developments related to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) took place late last week.
In the Senate, the CDFI Transparency Act has been reintroduced and would require annual congressional testimony on the CDFI Fund’s operations and activities.
The bill was reintroduced by Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA).
“Transparency builds trust among decision makers and the public,” America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Jim Nussle said in a statement “The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund plays a critical role in strengthening vulnerable Americans, low-income and underserved communities—it must remain focused on its mission.”
America’s Credit Unions noted that Daines has also offered the text of this bill and other CDFI-related amendments to the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, with the trade group saying it supports its inclusion in the final version.
Form Would Require Disclosures on CDFI Funds
Separately, Treasury has submitted a proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that would require certain applications for CDFI Fund awards to disclose whether funds would be used for diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), or climate purposes.
America’s Credit Unions said that while this proposal has been submitted to OMB, it has not yet been approved.
“If implemented, this new requirement could delay the release of awards and create uncertainty for applicants, including credit unions, while raising questions about how Treasury will treat these disclosures in the allocation of funding,” America’s Credit Unions said.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, approximately $290 million in CDFI Fund money that has been approved by Congress is currently being withheld by OMB, with awards allocations already overdue.
There are 444 CDFI-certified credit unions.
