WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho and Representative Young Kim of California have led more than 100 members of Congress in a joint effort to reaffirm support for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, a Treasury program that supports lending in rural, tribal, and underserved communities.

In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, lawmakers urged the administration to maintain the fund’s operations, warning that eliminating it could have long-term negative economic consequences.

“CDFIs play an important role in supporting economic development in rural, tribal and other underserved communities in our states,” the letter stated. It emphasized that such institutions provide flexible financing options — including longer loan terms and interest-only repayment periods — that make community projects viable in areas often overlooked by traditional lenders.

The letter also cited key programs under the CDFI Fund, including the New Markets Tax Credit, credited with creating more than one million jobs since its inception, and the Capital Magnet Fund, which helps expand affordable housing development in partnership with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Both programs were permanently expanded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, part of the current administration’s economic policy package.

Lawmakers concluded by expressing a willingness to work with the administration to strengthen the CDFI Fund’s mission of serving communities that have been left behind by both the federal government and the traditional finance sector.

Senator Crapo serves as co-chair of the Senate Community Development Finance Caucus. The full text of the letter is available on his official website.