Seeking support for key CDFI programs

Our Public Policy and Advocacy Team has been hard at work trying to continue support for key Community Development Financial Institution programs. Julie Gould, Mercy Loan Fund President and Senior Vice President of Public Policy Advocacy, recently signed on to the following letters:

“Restart the Clock” on the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program

Delays in implementation have cost the CDFI industry two, and possibly three, years of the $1 billion per year available through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program created in 2010. Join Opportunity Finance Network in urging Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to make an extension of the program, and the availability of the full amount authorized, a priority.

LETTER TO SECRETARY TIMOTHY GEITHNER ON CDFI BOND GUARANTEE PROGRAM

Dear Mr. Secretary:

The undersigned community development financial institutions and allies urge you to lead an effort to “reset the clock” on the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program so that it operates for the full four years Congress intended.

Congress and the President created the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program as a four-year pilot program, with $1 billion in guaranteed bond issuances for community and economic development purposes available per year in FY2011, FY2012, FY2013, and FY2014. The $4 billion provided through the Program represents the potential to stimulate lending in distressed markets, create and retain jobs, support small and community businesses, and help people hurt by the recession find safe, affordable housing.

The $2 billion in bond issuance authority for FY2011 and FY2012 is already lost. The authority for FY2013 is very much at risk, potentially leaving only the FY2014 bond issuance authority available. We ask the Obama Administration to work with the CDFI industry and its partners working in distressed markets in all 50 states to “reset the clock” and extend the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program to make up for lost opportunities.

Sincerely,

Julie Gould

President, Mercy Loan Fund

Extend the New Markets Tax Credit

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) expired at the end of 2011. Without Congressional action, distressed markets across America and the institutions that invest private capital in them will be deprived of this critical resource.

LETTER TO CONGRESS ON NMTC:

Dear Mr. Speaker and Mr. Majority Leader:

We, the undersigned community development financial institutions and allies, are writing to urge you to extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) without delay. Continuing this critical tool to stimulate private investment in distressed markets across the country will move the nation along on its path to recovery, channeling capital and jobs to the communities hardest hit by the economic downturn.

The NMTC is effective—both in terms of cost and of results. For every $1 of federal investment through the NMTC program, $8 of private investment is generated. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created as a result. We urge you to act on this important issue as you complete your work in the 112th Congress.

Sincerely,

Julie Gould

President, Mercy Loan Fund