Bonamici Chairs Hearing on Landmark Anti-Poverty Program 

WASHINGTON, DC [11/03/21] –Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) chaired a hearing to consider updates to the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, a landmark anti-poverty program.

An Oregon expert, Katherine King Galian, Director of Family and Community Resources at Community Action in Washington County, testified and answered questions about how CSBG funding helps Oregonians and low-income families around the country. Galian urged Congress to move forward on bipartisan legislation proposed by Bonamici, who Chairs the Education and Labor Committee Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services, that will modernize and expand CSBG.

"For people across the country, Community Action Agencies continue to be a reliable and essential place to find assistance," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "Poverty is not inevitable in this country. The Community Services Block Grant program supports more than 1,000 CAA organizations in nearly every county across the country as they help individuals and families find their path out of poverty."

"The Community Services Block Grant is so much more than a program," said Katherine King Galian, Community Action, in her opening statement to the Subcommittee. "It is a cornerstone of our community infrastructure. The CSBG funds are a small but vital piece of our organization's budget. Much like roads, bridges, and schools – CSBG is what connects an often-fragmented set of resources into a cohesive system that provides pathways to opportunity for low-income community members."

Video of the hearing is available here.

In a letter of support, mayors from Washington County write that the CSBG program "provide(s) stability for low-income individuals and families and create(s) new and lasting opportunities for self-sufficiency in the communities where people live. With the assistance of CSBG dollars, our Community Action organization provides community-based programs across a variety of categories including financial education, career training, food assistance, energy assistance and efficiency, emergency shelter, housing stability supports, eviction prevention, and early childhood education."

The CSBG program supports more than 1,000 Community Action Agencies (CAAs), which have been providing holistic assistance to poor and low-income communities across the country for more than 50 years. Bonamici introduced the bipartisan Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2021 to reauthorize this critical program for another decade and make overdue updates to reduce poverty. A fact sheet with more details about the CSBG Modernization Act can be found here.

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