[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E559-E562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TAUNTON GAZETTE DOCUMENTS THE VALUE OF CDBG

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2005

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, the Taunton Gazette recently 
ran a very comprehensive series documenting the social and economic 
importance of the Community Development Block Grant Program. Taunton, 
Massachusetts, which I am privileged to represent, is a very good 
example of how when this program is well administered, as it has been 
in Taunton, it can be of such enormous benefit in a variety of ways to 
its citizens. Joanna James of the Taunton Gazette deserves a great deal 
of credit for her thorough and insightful reporting, and the Taunton 
Gazette deserves a great deal of credit for devoting the space to this 
story. Too often today people are given only snippets of information 
about important public policy issues. The Taunton Gazette's in depth 
exploration of how the CDBG Program works in that city is a tribute to 
the program itself, and to its continued importance, to the people in 
the City of Taunton led by Mayor Nunes who administer it, to Joanna 
James for the quality of her reportage and to the Taunton Gazette for 
giving so much space to such an important public policy issue.
  I find it hard to believe that anyone could read this series of 
articles and still feel that this is a program ought to be 
substantially diminished, as the President's budget would do.

                           (By Joanna James)

       Taunton.--President George W. Bush's recommendation to 
     dismantle the Community

[[Page E560]]

     Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) in his proposed budget 
     would filter down the federal bureaucracy in no time and aim 
     directly at the heart of each community nationwide, according 
     to local and state elected officials.
       David Bachrach, director of the Mayor's Office of Community 
     Development (MOCD), predicts a looming crisis targeting the 
     community, whether or not the CDBG program is cut. Taunton 
     received $1.2 million from its funding for 2004.
       If the program isn't eliminated, then the question will be 
     how much funding will be allocated to it, according to 
     Bachrach. Bachrach said if it's significantly cut that will 
     cause unnecessary Congressional pressure to take money out of 
     other programs.
       ``These are huge resources that only government can will 
     upon the community.'' Bachrach said. ``It's a shame that the 
     cuts are even a suggestion.''
       Bush proposed to eliminate the community funding program 
     and replace it under the Department of Commerce while cutting 
     its funding by 35 percent. The CDBG aids statewide 
     municipalities with low income housing, public enhancements 
     such as park and street renovations and a plethora of other 
     community resources left to the discretion at the local 
     level.
       Mayor Robert G. Nunes said the CDBG is a ``tremendous 
     program'' that will have dire effects on Taunton if it is 
     cut. Nunes said over the last 10 years, the program has 
     provided $15 million to Taunton. The funds have been used on 
     community issues such as housing, public safety, 
     infrastructure, parks, roads and the hiring of police 
     officers.
       ``There's a national, bipartisan effort from mayors 
     lobbying heavy on this,'' Nunes said.
       Last week Nunes attended a roundtable discussion on the 
     CDBG cuts in Boston with seven other Massachusetts mayors 
     hosted by Rep. Michael E. Capuano, D-Mass.
       ``We discussed the impact the cuts would have across the 
     country.'' Nunes said, ``not just our communities.''
       As the former mayor of Somerville, Capuano spoke from 
     first-hand experience on how the CDBG funding was critically 
     important to the quality of life in communities.
       ``President Bush said in his State of the Union address 
     that he wants to help the faith-based and community groups . 
     . . yet he's cutting the very programs that help kids stay 
     away from drugs, provide housing and opportunity,'' Capuano 
     said.
       Bush's CDBG proposal fueled mayors nationwide to take a 
     stance against it because the CDBG program offers them 
     flexibility to decide where to direct the funding at a local 
     level.
       Locally, Nunes is working with the person who utilizes the 
     CDBG program the most. Bachrach's Office of Community 
     Development is the second largest in the city to receive 
     federal level funds (the first is Title I education).
       ``The CDBG is a significant tool,'' Bachrach said, ``It's 
     hard to fathom what will happen without the funds.''
       Currently the CDBG is funding 12 programs under the Office 
     of Community Development; whereas if the grant was eliminated 
     Bachrach would have to competitively find 12 separate grants 
     toward neighborhood revitalization, head starts for small 
     businesses, elder services, police detail and teachers--to 
     name a few.
       Over the past three years, the Office of Community 
     Development has used the CDBG to benefit: 515 elderly, 740 
     single-parent households, 96 disabled persons, 348 youth and 
     622 families. The CDBG has also impacted Taunton's business 
     growth and infrastructure improvements.
       ``We're going to have to reevaluate the direction of 
     money,'' Nunes said, ``less money, then less money toward 
     infrastructure and other community needs.''
       Although locally there has been a collective effort to 
     prevent the cuts, Nunes said at this point there is nothing 
     more that can be done other than wait for Congress's 
     decision.
                                  ____

       Taunton.--President George W. Bush stands firmly by tax 
     cuts as a means to economic growth, promoting the creation of 
     more small businesses. Yet in Bush's 2006 proposed budget he 
     supports cutting a grant that area officials and business 
     people say is at the heart of creating small businesses.
       The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) has helped 
     many local business owners take the first step in making 
     their dream come true from working as an employee to becoming 
     an employer.
       Over the past three years, the CDBG program has helped 
     create 26 new local jobs, provided 10 businesses with loans 
     totaling over $218,000 and provided more than 30 start-up 
     businesses with training, according to the Mayor's Office of 
     Community Development.
       Mezzaluna Deli on the Taunton Green is one of the 
     businesses which got its start--and has also sustained 
     itself--from the CDBG program. Holly and Harold Roderick, 
     owners of the delicatessen, received $25,000 from the CDBG 
     and used its entrepreneurial workshop to learn how to create 
     a business plan and present it for financing.
       ``If the city doesn't have the program, a lot of small 
     businesses aren't going to get started,'' Holly said. ``A lot 
     of the new restaurants will be chains and the city will lose 
     that little downtown business.''
       The Rodericks both earned bachelor's degrees from Johnson & 
     Wales University and Harold (known as Butch) always wanted to 
     own his own business. Holly said most banks won't finance 
     restaurants because of the high risk involved, so they needed 
     to get creative to find money. Holly said they attended the 
     Taunton Entrepreneurial Workshop, which showed them how to 
     create a business plan and helped them to apply for 
     financing.
       David Bachrach, director of the Mayor's Office of Community 
     Development, said his office and the Southeastern Economic 
     Development Corp. (SEED) often collaborate to get business 
     owners started.
       ``Once someone is funded and business savvy, then SEED is 
     the next step,'' Bachrach said.
       The community development office provides funds from the 
     CDBG program to Weir Corporation, which is a local community 
     development organization. Weir Corp. provided the Rodericks 
     with the first-tier help for them to get the entrepreneurial 
     training they needed and to obtain $25,000 for renovations.
       Weir Corp. provides loans to approximately 25 small 
     businesses per year, and training to more than 100 small 
     businesses per year. Jill Cowie, Weir Corp. co-director, said 
     the organization would not have been able to help in the 
     creation of such local small businesses such as Golden Years, 
     Ultimate Fitness or recently Dyetex without the CDBG.
       ``We wouldn't be able to do it anymore,'' Cowie said. ``The 
     CDBG is the source of our loan pool, our core funding.''
       Cowie said once the businesses need more than $25,000, the 
     risk is spread by working with SEED Corp. which will put up 
     to 40 percent of the loan, while a bank will finance up to 50 
     percent.
       SEED Corp. acted as a conduit for the Rodericks. The 
     Rodericks were financed $85,000 from SEED Corp. and Mechanics 
     Cooperative Bank financed the rest of the $179,900, so they 
     could buy the property and start the business.
       Mezzaluna will celebrate its third anniversary this 
     November, and Holly said they have seen a 40 percent increase 
     in sales from last year. Holly pondered about the time when 
     she and Harold couldn't find any bank to finance them, and 
     how the CDBG program was the only way they got started and 
     spurred their success.
       ``If I went out of business tomorrow a lot of people would 
     say, `where am I going to eat lunch now,' '' Holly said. ``I 
     really hope they keep the program in effect.''
       Bachrach said there has been a philosophical change with 
     the Bush administration in terms of helping the community.
       ``For Bush, community problems can be met with the open 
     market,'' Bachrach said. ``The administration no longer sees 
     the need for the private and public working together.''
       The business collaboration by these different venues from 
     the CDBG program provides sound community investments and 
     creates opportunity in the community for more jobs, according 
     to Bachrach.
       ``This is beyond myself because I have plenty of 
     opportunity for work, it's the people we serve who don't have 
     these options,'' Bachrach said. 'It's going to be 
     heartbreaking.''
                                  ____
                                  

          Funds That Help Repave Streets May Face Elimination

                           (By Joanna James)

       Taunton.--One local official worries that motorists who 
     drive through city streets will think bombs have been dropped 
     and the streets were never repaved.
       The official--David Bachrach. director of the Mayor's 
     Community Development Office--now fears that the potential 
     loss of federal funding for repair projects may make the 
     situation worse.
       For the coming summer, Community Development Block Grant 
     (CDBG) money will provide $1 million toward repaving roads 
     and other infrastructure projects. Yet the federal funding 
     may be eliminated if President George Bush's proposed budget 
     is approved by Congress.
       Even with more than a million dollars from the CDBG going 
     toward roads and other infrastructure projects, city 
     officials said borrowing will be necessary to repair potholes 
     and repave streets.
       Mayor Robert G. Nunes said he is confident the allocated 
     CDBG money will remain for the upcoming projects, but he is 
     nervous about the future.
       ``It [CDBG elimination] will have a devastating impact in 
     terms of infrastructure,'' Nunes said. ``The CDBG supplements 
     operating projects for the next five years.''
       Forty-three percent of all Taunton streets need 
     resurfacing, according to statistics provided by the 
     Department of Public Works (DPW). In 2004, the CDBG paid 
     $360,000 toward local DPW projects, and $640,000 for 2002 and 
     2003 improvements. For just the coming summer, CDBG will 
     provide $1 million for city projects.
       Frank Nichols, director of the Department of Public Works, 
     said the city already has a hard time filling potholes, and 
     the situation will grow worse if the extra help from the CDBG 
     was lost.
       ``Ultimately the city would have to come up with the money 
     for the loss and I don't know from where,'' Nichols said. 
     ``Absolutely, it helps relieve some of the issues we would 
     have to deal with.''
       Bachrach said Weir, High and Adam streets are three of the 
     11 streets where CDBG money helped pay for 8,000 linear feet 
     of road reconstruction and 5,000 linear feet of new water 
     lines over the last five years.
       However Bachrach said the Whittenton Area is in dire need 
     of road and water line reconstruction and is next on the list 
     of projects.

[[Page E561]]

       ``If you drove the streets you'd think they accidentally 
     dropped bombs in this area,'' Bachrach said. However 
     Whittenton is an upcoming project site funded by the CDBG.
       ``Once it's done they're going to be dancing in the 
     streets,'' Bachrach said.
       Debbie Maloney, owner of End of the Road T-shirts on Weir 
     Street, said she is grateful Weir Street was repaved from 
     CDBG funds. Maloney's business is also one of the local small 
     businesses which received $25,000 start-up help from CDBG 
     funds.
       ``This road is really good compared to others,'' Maloney 
     said. ``I know I wouldn't be happy if it [CDBG) was cut, a 
     lot of my customers complain the roads of Taunton are 
     disgusting.''
       Other types of infrastructure completed from CDBG funds 
     were the Paul Bunker Drive basketball courts, the Hopewell 
     pool and 15,000 sq. ft. of new sidewalks including Park 
     Street.
                                  ____


                              In Jeopardy

                           (By Joanna James)

       Taunton.--Here are some faces hidden behind the numbers. 
     Here are some people's stories hidden behind the political 
     speak.
       Local residents and officials said they would be 
     heartbroken if services provided by the Community Development 
     Block Grant (CDBG) were eliminated. If Congress accepts 
     President George W. Bush's 2006 budget proposal to eliminate 
     the CDBG--three-year-olds, to high school students, to senior 
     citizens--will feel the loss and city officials said they 
     couldn't bear the burden.
       David Bachrach, director of the Mayor's Office of Community 
     Development (MOCD), said 348 youths have benefited from the 
     CDBG over the last three years.
       Project Achieve received approximately $25,000 this year 
     towards MCAS tutoring and providing after school jobs to 17- 
     and 18-year-old students who may be the only bread-winners in 
     their families.
       Leonard Hull, budget coordinator for Project Achieve, said 
     many of the students Project Achieve helps are born into 
     difficult environments that they had no control over and can 
     easily lose hope.
       ``We're trying to help them believe that the American dream 
     is still a possibility,'' Hull said. ``They can make 
     something of themselves, and in the long run the community 
     gets a lot more back.''
       Three students--who work two hours, five days per week 
     after attending full-time classes at Taunton High School and 
     receive MCAS tutoring a few hours per week--said they now 
     believe in the American dream because of Project Achieve.
       Yarelis Rivera, 17, works at JC Penney in customer service 
     and hopes to be a nurse or flight attendant one day after 
     graduating from a community college.
       ``Once you set a goal and you have people to help you, you 
     can make it come true,'' Rivera said, regarding her 
     experience with Project Achieve.
       Cheryl Bileau, 17, helps her mother by working after school 
     at Redcats U.S.A./Chadwicks and babysitting her cousin and 
     younger siblings. Since Bileau's father died last Christmas 
     from a massive heart attack she said it has been ``tough'' on 
     the family, but she has been surrounded by supportive people 
     from Project Achieve.
       Once Bileau graduates, she has been offered a full-time job 
     from Redcats. She said she is saving her money to attend Rob 
     Roy Academy to become a cosmetologist.
       Edwina Orelus, 19, came to the U.S. from Haiti in 2003 to 
     conquer the American dream, and from the CDBG funding, her 
     parents' dream for their daughter to get an education may 
     come true.
       Orelus first took the MCAS a few months after she came to 
     the U.S. and failed from not knowing the English language 
     well. Presently two years after, Orelus is more confident 
     speaking English, and if she passes the MCAS, she has already 
     been accepted to a community college in Staten Island, N.Y.
       All three girls said they would be very disappointed if the 
     CDBG was cut because it has funded a program that they said 
     ``everyone deserves the extra help and support of.''
       In a full year, the CDBG funds the Department of Human 
     Services with $81,000, which has helped 515 elderly people 
     over the past three years, according to the MOCD.
       Anne Bisson, assistant director of the department of human 
     services for 21 years, said almost 100 percent of the 
     program's elders are low income and would be devastated if 
     the program was cut.
       ``They really rely on the staff and services. Some have no 
     family or their spouse died and they need some support,'' 
     Bisson said.
       Lois Meunier, 71, moved from her mobile home after her 
     husband died in 1999 and now lives in Caswell Grove Housing. 
     Meunier has no children or local family and said the 
     highlight of her week is the visit from her caseworker, Betty 
     Charette.
       ``She's just so wonderful,'' Meunier said. ``She's a 
     Godsend for me.''
       Charette is one of the five caseworkers who go to senior 
     citizens' homes to keep them company, talk and help them by 
     filling out insurance forms, meals, or in Meunier's case, 
     getting her hair done.
       Other than the case workers, the CDBG also funds a visiting 
     nurse to help with medicines and a computer center for 
     elderly to use the Internet.
       If the CDBG stopped funding the Department of Human 
     Services, the case workers and nurse wouldn't exist anymore.
       ``I would feel very badly about it [if Charette's position 
     was cut],'' Meunier said. ``I just look forward to it so 
     much, she's been such a comfort for me.''
       More than 622 families and 740 single parent households 
     have used the CDBG funds over the past three years, according 
     to the MOCD.
       The literacy program for families at educational risk 
     provides parents with the confidence to know they can be 
     their children's best teachers, according to Debbi Jenkins, 
     program's coordinator.
       Home visitors bring educational toys, books, puzzles and 
     other tools to teach children shapes, numbers and how to 
     appreciate reading and learning. Every other week the parents 
     get to keep whatever educational toy is brought to continue 
     teaching the kids.
       Jill Humann saw how much the program helped her daughter 
     and wanted her son James, 3, to get the same experience. Both 
     children were slow to speak and express themselves.
       However, after their home visitor Lisa Smith has been 
     coming to their house for two half-hour visits per week, the 
     children have excelled.
       ``They really learn a lot, I love it,'' Humann said. ``I 
     think it's [CDBG funding towards the program] the best thing 
     for kids. They'd be lost without it.''
       Humann said she has learned so much from Smith that she 
     continues the lessons with her children when Smith isn't 
     around.
       Smith said when she first started lessons with the three-
     year-old, she faced behavioral issues and had to make him 
     trust her.
       ``He loves social praise, how smart he is and how he wants 
     to show Mommy all his work,'' Smith said. ``Now he's 
     conversing and he's doing so well, I'm so proud of him.''
       Bachrach said these success stories are just a few examples 
     of how the CDBG has impacted the community.
       Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed 
     resolutions to reinstate the CDBG program from receiving such 
     a powerful, national grass roots advocacy.
       However, Bachrach said the real advocacy must begin now 
     that the Appropriations Committee decides how to focus the 
     funds.
       Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, will attend next Tuesday's City 
     Council meeting to discuss the CDBG program.
                                  ____
                                  
       Taunton.--Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass, congratulated 
     and thanked city officials and residents last night for 
     helping save the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 
     program from elimination under President George W. Bush's 
     2006 budget proposal.
       Frank said a nation-wide, bipartisan effort over the past 
     few months has secured the CDBG program while proving 
     ``democracy is still very alive.'' ``The efforts of people 
     from all over the country made this happen, and I can tell 
     you right now this vote is going to come out the right way,'' 
     Frank said.
       Frank said more than 50 senators from both parties signed a 
     March 2 letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking 
     to save the CDBG program and keep its current funding level.
       The people who filled the standing-room-only City Council 
     chambers last night and worked hard to keep the program alive 
     heard what they hoped for from Frank.
       David Bachrach, director of the Mayor's Office of Community 
     Development, has worked tirelessly to save the CDBG program 
     and said it was hard for him to put into words how happy he 
     was.
       ``This is a huge relief. I'm totally psyched,'' Bachrach 
     said. Local residents stood up and gave testimonials on how 
     they benefited from the grant program.
       After buying a city home that was in need of major 
     renovations, Jeanne-Marie Beatty was laid off from her job. 
     She had nowhere to turn and no money. Beatty saw a CDBG 
     advertisement and said it was ``too good to be true'' when 
     she realized the program would help her finish her house.
       ``I couldn't be happier. I'm thrilled the program will 
     continue,'' Beatty said. ``It's a win-win situation for so 
     many people and it all goes back to the community.''
       Frank said the administration had no horror stories to tell 
     about the CDBG program, because there were none. Rather. 
     Frank said the only reason President Bush proposed the CDBG 
     cut is because the Bush realized he has to reduce the 
     deficit, yet he's committed to tax cuts and the war, ``so to 
     do all three he can't.''
       ``It shows the president's philosophy that tax cuts to the 
     wealthy and his commitment to the war in Iraq come first and 
     everything else needs to get cut,'' Frank said before he 
     spoke at the council meeting. ``The president is denying that 
     we have value on our city programs.''
       Some other city programs funded by the CDBG that local 
     residents spoke about were the business training and lending 
     programs for small business owners. City students also 
     benefited from Project Achieve through the Taunton Area 
     School to Career program.
       Bonnie Brown, 17, and Cheryl Bileau, 17, both juniors at 
     Taunton High School, work after school with provided 
     transportation and get MCAS tutoring because the CDBG partly 
     funds Project Achieve. Frank said people should not settle in 
     just yet. City programs suffered from Section 8 cutbacks last 
     year, and Frank said keeping the CDBG should not be used as a 
     bargaining chip to hurt other programs.

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