	Introduction

The Community Services Block Grant traces its roots to the War on Poverty, launched by President Lyndon Johnson more than 50 years ago when he proposed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Background

Administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) provides federal funds to states, territories, and Indian tribes for distribution to local agencies in support of a variety of antipoverty activities. The CSBG Act was reauthorized in 1984 under P.L. 105-285 . Legislation was introduced in the 113 th Congress to amend and reauthorize the CSBG and related activities through FY2023 ( H.R. Similar legislation was introduced in the 114 th Congress ( H.R. Several related national activities—Community Economic Development (CED), Rural Community Facilities (RCF), and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)—receive appropriations separate from the block grant and offer grants to assist local low-income communities with economic development, rural housing and water management, and asset development for low-income individuals. These activities are administered at the federal level by the same Office of Community Services at HHS (part of the Administration for Children and Families) that administers the CSBG, and in some cases, are also authorized by the CSBG Act. States must submit an application and plan to HHS, stating their intention that funds will be used for activities to help families and individuals achieve self-sufficiency, find and retain meaningful employment, attain an adequate education, make better use of available income, obtain adequate housing, and achieve greater participation in community affairs. In FY2017, Congress did not provide funding for IDAs for the first time since the demonstration program was enacted. The maximum federal grant is $1 million each year. This network of local eligible entities reported spending nearly $13.6 billion in FY2015, with funding coming from federal, state, local, and private sources. Funding for CSBG and Related Activities

		FY2018 Funding

As of the date of this report, FY2018 funding for CSBG has been provided via a series of continuing resolutions (CRs). To date, the CRs fund most federal programs, including CSBG, at FY2017 levels less an across-the-board rescission of 0.6791%, through February 8, 2018. For CSBG, the FY2017 funding level was $715 million, while CED received $20 million and RCF $7.5 million. No funding was provided for IDAs in FY2017. Prior to enactment of the CRs, the Administration proposed to eliminate funding for CSBG, CED, and RCF. The House Appropriations Committee approved a bill to fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) on July 24, 2017 ( H.R. 3358 ). The bill proposed to reduce funding for CSBG to $600 million, to reduce funding for CED to $10 million, and to maintain RCF funding at $7.5 million. In addition, on August 16, 2017, the full House passed a bill ( H.R. 3354 ) that incorporated multiple FY2018 appropriations bills, including that for LHHS. Funding for CSBG and related programs in H.R. 3354 was the same as the levels proposed in H.R. 3358 . FY2017 Funding36

			Final FY2017 Funding

For FY2017, Congress provided just over $742 million for CSBG and related activities as part of the FY2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act ( P.L. 115-31 , CSBG and most federal programs had been funded pursuant to a series of continuing resolutions. Funding for CED was reduced compared to FY2016, from $30 million to $20 million. Funding for RCF increased by $1 million compared to FY2016, from $6.5 million to $7.5 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee-reported bill (described below) recommended no funding for IDAs, but the House Appropriations Committee-reported bill would have provided level funding of approximately $19 million. Reauthorization Proposal in the 114th Congress

The authorization of appropriations for CSBG and related activities expired at the end of FY2003, although Congress has continued to fund these programs through the annual appropriations process. 3854 ), H.R. 1655 . This process considered the extent to which eligible entities in the state were considered vulnerable or in crisis; the physical size of the state, its number of eligible entities, and the number of state personnel assigned to the CSBG program; the extent of poverty in the state compared to the number of eligible entities and state CSBG personnel; the number of clients served compared to the number of eligible entities and state CSBG personnel; evidence of past audit problems; and tardiness by the state in submitting CSBG state plans to HHS or responses to information surveys conducted by the National Association of State Community Services Programs.
Community Services Block Grants (CSBG) provide federal funds to states, territories, and tribes for distribution to local agencies to support a wide range of community-based activities to reduce poverty. These include activities to help families and individuals achieve self-sufficiency, find and retain meaningful employment, attain an adequate education, make better use of available income, obtain adequate housing, and achieve greater participation in community affairs. In addition, many local agencies receive federal funds from other sources and may administer other federal programs.
Smaller related programs—Community Economic Development (CED), Rural Community Facilities (RCF), and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)—also support antipoverty efforts. CSBG and some of these related activities trace their roots to the War on Poverty, launched more than 50 years ago in 1964. Today, they are administered at the federal level by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Initial FY2018 funding for CSBG is provided by a series of continuing resolutions (CRs). As of the date of this report, the current CR funds most federal programs, including CSBG and related programs, at their FY2017 levels less an across-the-board rescission of 0.6791%, through February 8, 2018.
In FY2017, CSBG and related activities were funded at a total level of $742 million through the FY2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-31). This was a reduction of nearly $30 million relative to FY2016 appropriations of $770 million, though that total was more than had been appropriated in each year from FY2012-FY2015. While the block grant was funded at the FY2016 level of $715 million, funding for CED was reduced by $10 million (from $30 million to $20 million) and funding for IDAs was eliminated for the first time since the program was created as a demonstration in 1998. Funding for RCF increased slightly to $7.5 million in FY2017, compared to $6.5 million in FY2016.
Prior to enactment of the FY2018 continuing resolutions, the Administration's budget proposed to eliminate funding for CSBG, CED, and RCF, and would again have provided no funding for IDAs. Both the Senate and the House appropriations committees reported FY2018 funding bills that rejected the Administration's proposal. The House Appropriations Committee-reported bill to fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS, H.R. 3358) would provide $600 million for CSBG, $10 million for CED, $7.5 million for RCF, and no funding for IDAs. The LHHS bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee (S. 1771) would provide $700 million for CSBG, and maintain FY2017 funding levels for CED ($20 million) and RCF ($7.5 million). Neither the House nor the Senate committee-approved bills contain funding for IDAs. In addition, on August 16, 2017, the House passed H.R. 3354, a bill that incorporated multiple appropriations bills, as an omnibus appropriations act. However, the CR was enacted before action on H.R. 3354 was complete. Funding for CSBG and related activities in H.R. 3354 are the same as those in H.R. 3358.
The Community Services Block Grant Act was last reauthorized in 1998 by P.L. 105-285. The authorization of appropriations for CSBG and most related programs expired in FY2003, but Congress has continued to make annual appropriations each year. Legislation was introduced in the 114th Congress—with bipartisan cosponsorship—to amend and reauthorize the CSBG Act through FY2023 (H.R. 1655). Similar legislation had been introduced in the 113th Congress (H.R. 3854).
According to the most recent survey conducted by the National Association for State Community Services Programs, through a contract with HHS, the nationwide network of more than 1,000 CSBG grantees served 15.6 million people in 6.5 million low-income families in FY2015. States reported that the network spent $13.6 billion of federal, state, local, and private resources, including $637 million in federal CSBG funds.