CRUNCH TIME FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT: Just got this email from Ed Schwartz at the Institute for the Study of Civic Values:

At some point Monday or Tuesday (March 7th-8th) the Budget Committees in both the House and Senate will set a projected budget for the Community Development Block Grant--as well as every other program.

The difference here is that the President has eliminated the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entirely from his proposed budget--so unless the Congress acts to restore its budget in the Committee meetings, it will be a struggle to get it back later on.

So if we want to save the Community Development Block Grant, we need to call our representatives in the House and Senate today--Monday morning--to express our support for the program.

Letters are circulating both the Senate and the House supporting CDBG.

You can read them on the BushBudget Web Site from here: Community Development Block Grant Under Attack

55 Senators have signed a letter supporting the Block Grant.

Far fewer members of the House have signed a bi-partisan letter circulated by Rep. Barney Frank (D) and Rep. Chris Shay (R). So it becomes critical to call your Congressperson in Washington before Noon Monday (E.S.T.)

Even if you're sure your Senators and Representatives support the Community Development Block Grant, call them. They need to know that there is strong public support for this program.

If you don't know your Congressperson's Washington number, you can find it quickly from Congress.org.

Time is critical here. If we want to keep the Community Development Block Grant, we need to act today or we'll have a much tougher fight later on.

Both Ohio Senators, Mike DeWine and George Voinovich, have signed the Senate "Dear Colleague" letter. Send them a thank-you note! Here's contact info for DeWine and Voinovich.

I have no information on any Ohio Members of Congress who've signed the House letter. The only House Budget Committee member from Ohio is Republican Rob Portman of suburban Cincinnati, called "President Bush's man in the House" by the New York Times. If you live in Portman's 2nd District, or any other Republican congressional district in the state, your call tomorrow in support of CDBG is probably worth its weight in gold. You can find your CongressMember's name and contact information here at Project Vote Smart.
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