Bill Text: HI SR90 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Community Services Block Grant Program

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-06-06 - (S) Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-06-11. [SR90 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2011-SR90-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	90
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE 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, over nine million households, nearly five million children, over two million elderly, nearly three 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 36,920 individuals, 25,946 families, 8,938 youths, and 15,839 seniors; 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 per cent; 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 vulnerable population at a time when services are needed most; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, that the Legislature supports the Community Services Block Grant program and the many positive impacts it has on Hawaii, and strongly opposes 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 Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; the Majority Leader of the United States Senate; the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; and the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Community Services Block Grant Program