Sec. 2. Findings and purposes
382 words·~2 min read·
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Congress finds the following: There exists a network of over 1,000 Treasury-certified community development financial institutions located in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Community development financial institutions are mission-driven financial lenders that provide critical and responsible financial products and services that benefit low-income and distressed communities, economically disadvantaged people, and community businesses.
Community development financial institutions need more talent and human capacity to better meet the needs of the low-income and distressed communities, economically disadvantaged populations, and community businesses that they serve. National service programs, carried out through the Corporation for National and Community Service, are national, State, and local service programs provided through a network that connects over 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service to improve lives, strengthen communities, and inspire civic engagement.
Economic opportunity is one of the Corporation's focus areas for national service corps or programs. Community development financial institutions and national service programs each engage local residents and community partners to improve community safety, health, housing, and economic opportunities, and to meet community-identified needs. Residents of low-income communities, especially youth and young adults, can be empowered through their national service, and can help provide future leadership for community development financial institutions and for the communities they serve.
The Corporation for National and Community Service has engaged in partnerships, similar to the partnership created under this Act, with Federal agencies such as the Department of Transportation, the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and the Forest Service. The purposes of this Act are to— create a partnership between the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Department of the Treasury to connect the work of covered community development financial institutions with passionate and dedicated national service participants, including volunteers in the National Senior Service Corps; strengthen the capacity of covered community development financial institutions to provide services, which services may include financial counseling, financial services, job placement, small business financing, affordable rental housing financing, commercial facility financing, community facility financing, single family home financing, and foreclosure prevention services; expand the direct services provided by covered community development financial institutions; and deploy national service participants, including volunteers in the National Senior Service Corps, in impactful national service that aligns with objectives in the Corporation's economic opportunity focus area.