MACA criticizes Trump's budget cutting community service grant

Statement from Joe Diamond, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action, In Response to Proposed Federal Budget Blueprint

Boston, Mass. (February 12, 2018) - “The budget proposed by the Trump administration is a cruel one, especially in light of the new tax law that in almost every way favors the rich. President Trump’s budget adds insult to injury by eliminating the very programs that have helped millions of people leave poverty. 

Cutting the Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) program will not only adversely affect thousands of residents of Massachusetts, but will also remove millions of dollars from communities across the Commonwealth. It will devastate vulnerable individuals, families, and seniors while also weakening communities as a whole.

Similarly, eliminating the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and weatherization programs (WAP) will hurt low income families struggling through winters in New England. This will cause people to have to make terrible choices between heating, eating, food, clothes, and medicine, and will create a public health hazard in cities and towns across Massachusetts.

The economy currently does not work for everyone, and until it does, programs like fuel assistance, CSBG, and WAP are critical.  The President’s budget eviscerates the social safety net, the very programs that are necessary to counter the effects of his tax package.  Community Action Agencies are on the front lines, and we see the struggles that low income families face. We very much appreciate the tireless work of our congressional delegation who continue their efforts to protect the programs that help hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Massachusetts residents living with low incomes become economically stable and mobile.”