As we all know, the future of federal economic development programs is under serious threat as Congress targets them in their tax reform and deficit reduction proposals. Over the last three decades, federal outlays for programs that support community and regional economic development have fallen by 75 percent as a share of Gross Domestic Product. Now, in addition to this alarming statistic, the potential for Congressional Tax Reform puts Federal tax incentives for community revitalization, such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC), the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Program, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, U.S. Department of Energy, Tax Exempt Bonds and Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs, at risk.
NDC ACT, Advocating for Communities Together, was created as a Call to Action—a way to generate a dialog among community and economic development organizations across the United States to share the results of our collective work and to demonstrate to our elected officials the significant contributions of these community development tools to the national and local economies. Together we can build awareness of the collective impact of these programs and advocate continued Congressional support for them.
As part of a focused effort, NDC ACT will select a specific state and profile the impact of federally funded economic development programs within that state and then share that impact with the states senators and congressmen and women. The first states we have selected are states where the congressional leadership can have a great impact on preserving these programs. In profiling a state, our goal is to focus on projects from Community Development Corporations, municipalities, Community Development Financial Institutions, NMTC Community Development Entities, housing organizations, LIHTC syndicators and local non-profits, and share these project with the state’s U.S. Senators and U.S. House of Representatives.
The month of April will highlight economic development projects completed with federal resources in South Carolina. By using social media to communicate directly with Senator Graham and Senator Scott and South Carolina’s representatives in Congress, we will show the impact of federal economic development resources in their state. Over the course of a month we hope to create a very clear image of the scale of impact South Carolina’s economic development community has had in their state.
We need your help! Tell us about your projects: Email us, Connect with us on Twitter and use #NDCACT and like us on Facebook. We will re-post and re-tweet your story and do our best to communicate the impact of your work in South Carolina and across the Nation.