Rep. Vargas Fights to Stop Extreme Cuts to Housing and Transportation
Washington, DC (July 30, 2013) –Today, Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51) joined fellow Democrats to highlight the devastating effects that cuts to the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), being proposed in H.R. 2610, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act of 2014 (T-HUD) will have on local economies and low-income Americans. If T-HUD is passed, the CDBG program will be cut by nearly 50 percent.
“Our veterans, children, seniors, and disabled are the primary beneficiaries of CDBG funding and I am outraged that such draconian and unnecessary cuts to the program are being proposed,” stated Rep. Vargas. “It is inhumane to cast aside the most vulnerable in our society and leave them to fend for themselves.”
The CDBG program is a federally funded program that helps local governments tackle housing, social service and economic challenges in their communities. In San Diego County, the CDBG program has funded numerous projects, such as the Veterans’ Village of San Diego, which is devoted to meeting veterans' needs, Rachel’s Women’s Center, which provides services to homeless women, and the Senior Nutrition Program, which assists low-income seniors who are food insecure.
“The horrific cuts being proposed will devastate those who are already struggling to have life’s basic necessities, such as food and shelter,” stated Vargas. “I will continue to fight for the less fortunate and work to ensure that they do not go without the resources they desperately need.”
Vargas represents California’s 51st Congressional District which includes the southern portion of San Diego County, all of Imperial County and the entire US/Mexico border in California. Vargas is currently serving his first term in the U.S. Congress. He represented the 40th California State Senate District from 2010-2012, the 79th California State Assembly District from 2000 – 2006 and served on the San Diego City Council from 1993 – 2000.