LIMA — As the nation has had time to digest the provisions included in President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, area service providers helping low-income families, seniors, and the disabled are worried the programs they help administer will soon be eliminated or greatly reduced.
While the budget was touted by the administration as cutting back on Washington bureaucracy, West Ohio Community Action Partnership, formerly known as LACCA, maintained that federal budget cuts could eliminate more than $1.9 million from programs like the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program for people in Allen, Auglaize and Mercer counties.
“The programs at risk help those in our community who are the most vulnerable,” WOCAP CEO Jacqueline Fox said. “Our low-income neighbors work hard to overcome their unique obstacles to break free from poverty. Taking away the programs that help them take those important steps toward success will only cause them to fall further away from their goals.”
WOCAP said that 12,349 people in its three-county area were served by LIHEAP last year, keeping their heat running through the winter. Additionally, the Community Services Block Grant leveraged $18 for every $1 from the grant program to help fund these at-risk programs.
“Cutting CSBG, flexible local dollars that create opportunity for over 15 million people in every community in America, a program with bipartisan support in Congress, one that has already shifted power from the feds to local communities, harms America,” said David Bradley, CEO of the National Community Action Foundation. “Make no mistake about it, this budget does not put Americans first, it puts Americans last.”
Joshua Anderson, executive director of the Hancock Hardin Wyandot Putnam Community Action Commission acknowledged that the proposed budget would cut the majority of programs his agency administers, but he also expressed confidence that the track record of his agency and these programs will resonate with lawmakers.
“This is not the first time our network of agencies has faced strong headwinds from the federal government,” he said. “We are confident, however, that through our demonstrated capacity to provide outcome-driven services, our true value to those we serve will be recognized.”
