The Bush administration is actively trying to snip away what few shreds of an urban policy remain. It's not news that the HUD budget will be slashed to make room for priorities like tax cuts. But there is bureaucratic shuffling afoot that would be the beginning of the end-game for the long effort to make HUD irrelevant, possibly to the point of elimination. The attached Washington Post article focuses on one piece of the proposed whammy, the Community Development Block Grant program

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (http://www.nlihc.org/) has organized a call-in campaign, Feb 23 and Feb 24. Calling your Congress people is not exciting, but quick, easy and --when combined with 1000s of like-minded calls -- potentially effective.

What can you do on February 23 and 24:
1. Call 1-888-818-6641 and ask to be connected to your members' offices
2. Ask to speak to the Legislative Assistant responsible for Budget Issues
3. Call again to speak to your Senators' offices
4. Contact Katie Fisher at 202-662-1530 x.222, katie [at] nlihc.org, to let her know the results of your calls.
5. Forward this to everyone who will make calls
The Message:

Representative/Senator, "please oppose the President's FY06 budget proposal:
1. The overall funding level for HUD is inadequate to fund ALL housing programs.
2. Ask for an increase in the entire HUD budget, and to preserve the important programs under HUD's purview.
3. The proposed budget will cap spending on housing programs and other key low income programs, causing a deeper cut to vital low income programs over time."
4. The proposed budget protects tax cuts for the wealthy, while gouging low income programs. Please oppose the President's FY06 budget.