On Friday, the Native CDFI Network (NCN) joined together with 53 Native CDFIs and key Indian Country partners to submit a joint letter to Congressional leaders and key Administration officials protesting the Trump Administration’s plan to obligate only $4 million of the $28 million in federal funding that Congress recently appropriated for the CDFI Fund’s Native CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program for FY 2025, meaning it plans to withhold a total of $24 million in funding for qualified Native CDFIs (a reduction of 86%). The Administration formally expressed this intention in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Appendix to the Technical Supplement to the FY 2026 White House Budget (see page 836).
In addition, the Technical Supplement reveals the Administration’s plan to withhold all Congressionally appropriated FY 2025 funding for the CDFI Fund’s Small Dollar Loan Program, which many Native CDFIs rely on to combat predatory lending to Native consumers by offering them low-interest loan alternatives to the high-cost payday loans that are prevalent near tribal lands.
The joint letter demanded Congress and the Administration take immediate, corrective steps to neutralize these actions before they take effect.
NCN calls on all Native CDFIs to promptly engage their respective Congressional delegations to voice their opposition to the Administration’s planned actions using the attached letter. If you need assistance with locating the email addresses of the staff of your Congressional delegations, please email NCN Policy Consultant Ian Record at [email protected].
Read/download the joint letter here.