SCHUMER REVEALS: TRUMP’S NEWEST ORDER COULD BLOW $5 BILLION DOLLAR HOLE IN NY’S “MAIN STREET” LENDING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, MORTGAGES & MORE; SENATOR LEADS FIGHT FOR IMMEDIATE REVERSAL, BREAKS DOWN DEVASTATING IMPACT REGION BY REGION OF PROPOSAL

In Recent Days, Trump Signed Executive Order To Dismantle Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, Which Provides Hundreds Of Millions Of Fed Investment Annually To Lenders To Increase Access To Capital For Underserved Areas Like Upstate NY & Rural Communities To Help People Buy Homes, Boost Small Biz, And More

Schumer Shows How These Devastating Cuts Would Be Felt From Buffalo To Albany, In Every Region – CDFI’s In Upstate NY Have Helped 12,000+ Upstate Businesses Each Year, Nearly 4,000 Families With Mortgages, And Financed Nearly 5,000 Affordable Housing Units

Schumer: Cutting Off Upstate NY From This Main Street Lending Program Would Be A Disaster– And Trump Must Reverse This Decision

After President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer revealed how these devastating proposed cuts would be felt in every corner of Upstate NY by upending the primary lending program for everything from small businesses on our Main Streets to first-time homebuyers.

Schumer said CDFI’s fill the gaps in lending where capital might not be available for NYer’s looking to buy a home, start or expand a small business, improve their local Main Streets, finance affordable housing and hospitals, and more. Schumer is now leading a bipartisan coalition of senators to call on the Trump administration to preserve this vital fund – an essential and affordable stream of lending for communities like Upstate NY and cities and rural communities across America.  

“The Trump administration just unwisely put Upstate NY’s Main Street lending on the chopping block, something that will hurt new families trying to buy homes and entrepreneurs starting and expanding small businesses. The CDFI fund is used from Buffalo to Albany to help NY families buy homes, grow their small businesses, improve healthcare, and rebuild our Main Streets, and taking it away would be a disaster. It could blow a $5 billion dollar hole in New York’s community lending sector, raising costs and cutting off loans and investment for anyone who doesn’t have access to big banks,” said Senator Schumer. “I am all for cutting out inefficiency, but you use a scalpel, not a chainsaw. And you certainly don’t slash programs like the CDFI Fund which has a clear track record of using federal investment to leverage magnitudes more in private investment to help regular people buy homes and start businesses. It is one of the best bang for your buck programs we have for Upstate NY small businesses and families buying homes. I am leading a bipartisan fight for the Trump administration to reverse this destructive proposal and preserve the CDFI Fund to keep the support flowing to Upstate NY’s Main Streets and the middle class.”

The CDFI Fund supports CDFI lenders in their mission to provide small businesses and housing and community development projects with capital investment unavailable in their local economies. Each year, CDFIs provide affordable growth capital to thousands of small businesses and finance over $100 billion in residential real estate, bringing down the cost of housing through new construction and affordable home mortgages. Schumer said the elimination of key CDFI Fund functions would undermine this important progress, including for small businesses and homeowners. In New York, CDFIs have supported hospital renovations, affordable housing conversions, projects bringing fresh food to local communities, small business expansions, and more. A breakdown of funding by region in New York for small businesses and housing can be found below. A list of New York projects can be found here.

“Support from the CDFI Fund allows us to maximize our impact in New York's low-income areas - urban, rural and everywhere in between,” said Colleen Ryan, consulting executive director of the NYS CDFI Coalition. “Local CDFIs develop unique programs and tailored resources by leveraging federal dollars with private capital. These grants are not spent down, as traditional grants are. Instead, as loans are repaid, the funds are recycled into new projects. In addition to lending, we offer technical assistance to our borrowers to help them develop much-needed housing, build businesses, and revitalize neighborhoods. We urge continued support for the CDFI Fund, which provides consistent return on investment.”

Schumer said it is unacceptable that the Trump administration is eliminating the CDFI Fund and its vital support to lowering the cost of housing and helping more Americans start a business or rebuild their community, and warned that this Trump cut will have severe impacts on New York. In 2022, CDFIs helped deliver over $1 billion in capital for small business and housing and community projects. This investment alone supported the creation of over 20,000 affordable housing units across New York State.

The CDFI Fund provides the necessary investment to start and support the national network of CDFI lenders to bring private capital to more communities. For every $1 in federal funding awarded through the CDFI Fund, at least $8 in private sector investment is leveraged—mobilizing local capital, creating jobs, and fueling small business and affordable housing growth. The CDFI network serves communities throughout the country, from rural to big cities to suburban areas, and as a result, has had long-standing bipartisan support.

Schumer’s letter to Treasury Secretary Bessent along with Sens. Warner and Crapo, Tina Smith (D-MN), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Dr. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jack Reed (D-RI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Gary Peters (D-MI), John Boozman (R-AR), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jim Justice (R-WV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) can be found HERE or below:

We write to reaffirm our bipartisan support of the CDFI Fund, its operations and the critical role it plays in the communities it serves. We appreciate your recent statement recognizing how the CDFI Fund and CDFIs are integral to the Administration's pursuit of job growth, wealth creation and prosperity.

Federal support for the CDFI mission began in 1994, with enactment of the bipartisan Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act. Since its inception over three decades ago, the CDFI Fund has proven critical to the CDFI sector’s growth and has met the mission to create a public-private partnership to promote access to capital in our most underserved urban and rural communities.

Over 1,400 CDFIs represent a significant portion of America’s financial services sector, delivering over $300 billion in financial services each year to urban and rural communities across every state. Each year, CDFIs provide affordable growth capital to over 100,000 small businesses and finance over $100 billion in residential real estate, bringing down the cost of housing through new construction and affordable home mortgages. The important work of the CDFI sector is strengthened by the CDFI Fund, which provides seed funding to new CDFIs, grows the capacity of existing CDFIs, and provides oversight to ensure federal dollars are spent appropriately. Elimination of key CDFI Fund functions would undermine this important progress, including for small businesses and homeowners.

The CDFI Fund’s public-private partnership model aligns with this Administration’s emphasis on ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and with measurable impact. Every federal dollar injected into a CDFI generates at least eight more dollars from private-sector investment. Due in large part to the investments the Trump Administration made in the CDFI Fund in 2020, industry assets have tripled and the number of CDFI-certified entities has risen by 40 percent.

In sum, more distressed communities are being served by CDFIs than ever before, more firsttime buyers are receiving the financing they need to purchase a home, more community facilities are being built, and more commercial loans are reaching entrepreneurs. A reduction in the functions and operations of the CDFI Fund will have a corresponding impact on CDFI-certified entities and local communities and we urge you to avoid this unfortunate outcome.

Thank you for your consideration of our request. We stand ready to work with your Administration to promote policies that deliver opportunity and prosperity to all Americans.

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