WASHINGTON—President Biden’s new fiscal year 2022 discretionary funding requests include numerous areas of interest to credit unions, including increased spending funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund.
The allocations, of course, are ultimately dependent upon Congress, which did restore funding for the programs in prior sessions after the Trump Administration had proposed cuts, which could bode well for the funds that are eventually approved.
CDFI Fund
The Biden Administration proposal provides $330 million to the Treasury's CDFI Fund – an increase of 22.2% from the 2021 enacted level (excluding coronavirus-related emergency funding).
The CDFI funding is cited as supporting opportunities for minority-owned businesses, affordable housing development, and community revitalization projects.
SBA
Biden is proposing $852 million for the SBA – a 9.4% increase from 2021's enacted level – in order to support underserved entrepreneurs, increase opportunities for Small Disadvantaged Businesses to receive federal contracts, encourage innovation, and provide access to capital to become more resilient to climate change.
FinCEN
Biden's proposed budget includes $191 million for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as it works to implement the beneficial ownership information reporting provisions included in the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).
Housing
The budget request also includes several provisions to expand housing opportunities and reduce the racial wealth gap. Some of the funding would go toward supporting access to homeownership for underserved borrowers through the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mortgage insurance programs, as well as supporting coronavirus-related relief provided to homeowners facing financial hardships, NAFCU noted in its budget analysis.
In addition, it proposes $800 million in new investments across Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs for rehabilitation and modernization to further climate resilience and energy efficiency – aimed at addressing climate change impacts, such as increasingly frequent and severe floods.