Bill Text: HI SCR150 | 2011 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Community Services Block Grant Program
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-04-15 - (H) Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting no and Representative(s) Chong, Herkes, Kawakami, McKelvey, Thielen, Tokioka excused. [SCR150 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2011-SCR150-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
150 |
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TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM AND STRONGLY OPPOSING BUDGET CUTS PROPOSED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.
WHEREAS, the federal Community Services Block Grant program can be traced back to President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" programs to eliminate poverty and racial injustice; and
WHEREAS, the Community Services Block Grant program serves the nation's most vulnerable citizens and has a proven history of allowing low-income individuals to achieve economic security and participate more fully in society; and
WHEREAS, community action agencies have become a permanent institution in communities throughout the nation; and
WHEREAS, the Community Services Block Grant program allows state and territory administrators to tailor anti-poverty efforts to address specific problems and capitalize on unique resources in their states; and
WHEREAS, over one thousand community-based organizations are networked throughout the United States, mobilizing local leaders and institutions to address issues specific to their communities; and
WHEREAS, the Community Services Block Grant program is the only federal program exclusively focused on reducing poverty; and
WHEREAS, the Community Services Block Grant program has helped over twenty million individuals, nearly five million children, over two million elderly, nearly two million individuals with disabilities, and almost four million individuals with no form of health insurance; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii has four community action agencies that employ over eight hundred individuals; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii-based community action programs serve 63,776 individuals in 38,817 low-income families, 8,338 children, 11,007 individuals with disabilities, and 3,776 individuals without health insurance; and
WHEREAS, federal funding for Hawaii community action agencies helps to generate nearly $47,000,000 in local funds, translating to $10.92 in local funds for every Community Services Block Grant dollar invested in the State; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii-based community action agencies exclusively serve families at or below the federal poverty level; and
WHEREAS, the nation's current financial crisis will force more families to seek out services that community action agencies provide; and
WHEREAS, recently, the President of the United States and members of the United States Congress have proposed cutting the budget of the Community Services Block Grant program by fifty percent; and
WHEREAS, the proposed cuts to the Community Services Block Grant program will severely impact the ability of community action agencies to properly serve the nation's most vulnerable populations at a time when services are severely needed; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature support the Community Services Block Grant program and the many positive impacts it has on Hawaii, and strongly oppose the budget cuts proposed by the President of the United States and members of the United States Congress; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; Majority Leader of the United States Senate; Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; and members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.
Community Services Block Grant Program
