Congress Considers Repeal of Community Development Block Grant Amid Criticism of Ineffectiveness
The Trump administration has proposed the elimination of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a $3.3 billion federal initiative aimed at funding housing, services, and revitalization in low- and moderate-income areas. Critics, including City Journal senior editor Steven Malanga, argue that the program is one of the most wasteful and ineffective domestic-spending programs, often funding projects that do not align with its poverty-combating mission. The program's flexibility, once seen as a virtue, has led to waste and mission creep, with funds frequently benefiting wealthier communities rather than those in need. Antiquated funding formulas, unchanged for over 40 years, contribute to this misallocation, as they underweight poverty and use flawed variables like historic housing stock and population growth lag. 
