At the Native CDFI Network (NCN) 2023 Annual Policy and Capacity Building Summit, Pete Upton, NCN’s CEO, facilitated a fireside chat with Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) called “Congressional Leadership Supporting Native CDFIs and Indian Country.” During the Summit, Lummis engaged with Native CDFI leaders from across the country, gaining a deep understanding of and appreciation for the extraordinary impacts Native CDFIs make as well as the challenges they face in supporting the access to capital, housing and homeownership, and small business development needs of Native communities.
Invoking this understanding, during last week’s Senate Banking Committee Hearing for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Nominee Scott Turner, Lummis uplifted the role of Native CDFIs in addressing Indian Country’s housing and homeownership crisis. She led off her questioning of Turner with the following statement: “Native CDFIs are important to fixing the housing crisis in Indian Country. They are a way for Tribes to attract capital that leave Tribal members in control. And in Indian Country, it’s very important that Tribal members be in control.”
Turner responded to affirm his commitment to supporting Native CDFIs and working with Senator Lummis to engage the U.S. Department of the Treasury and CDFI Fund to ensure CDFI certification continues to enable Native CDFIs to deploy flexible lending products to meet the distinct mortgage lending needs of Native people.
NCN thanks Senator Lummis and HUD Secretary Nominee Turner for their support of Native CDFIs, and we look forward to working with them to advance the policy priorities of Native CDFIs in the new Congress and Administration.
NCN also joins the National American Indian Housing Council in urging Mr. Turner to prioritize the following if confirmed:
- Support the continuation of the Secretary’s Tribal Inter-Agency Advisory Committee (TIAC) and engage with the Committee through in-person meetings: Continuing the Secretary’s Tribal Inter-Agency Advisory Committee (TIAC) is vital for promoting effective collaboration between Tribal Nations and HUD. The opportunity to communicate directly with HUD leadership in this forum has already helped to break down barriers & foster positive change for Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs).
- Increase funding for tribal housing programs: It is essential to provide Native communities with sufficient and sustainable funding to tackle the severe housing shortages and substandard living conditions on reservations. Until recently, federal funding for tribal housing programs has remained relatively stagnant. The Fiscal Year 2024 funding levels for NAHASDA programs should serve as the new baseline for budget requests moving forward.
Click here to view Upton’s Senate Subcommittee Testimony.