WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Steve Daines (R-MT) today introduced the bipartisan “Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development (AFFORD) Act.” The AFFORD Act will provide added transparency over CDFI Fund operations and strengthen its role in improving capital access and economic development in rural, tribal, and other underserved communities in Montana, Virginia, and across the country. Additionally, the bill would extend and enhance the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program to enable participation by smaller CDFIs, reauthorizes the CDFI liquidity enhancement program to increase CDFI lending capacity and reach more communities, and bolsters the role of Native CDFIs by expanding a USDA CDFI relending program that partners with Native CDFIs to deploy mortgage loans to eligible Native borrowers.

“CDFIs are critical in bringing capital and financial services to rural, tribal, and underserved communities, and they can be significant partners for local governments to battle rising costs and affordability. I’m proud to be introducing the AFFORD Act, which will expand the capacity of CDFIs so they can reach more communities across Virginia,” said Sen. Warner.  

“CDFIs help hardworking families and small business owners in Montana gain access to the opportunities and capital they need for financial success, especially in Montana’s rural and tribal communities. It’s critical we improve transparency surrounding the operations of the CDFI Fund to ensure its programs continue to serve the vital role of increasing economic development and helping Montana communities thrive. I’m glad to introduce the AFFORD Act, which will do just that,” said Sen. Daines.

U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jim Justice (R-WV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (D-MS), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Katie Britt (R-AL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Boozman (R-AR) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) joined Sens. Warner and Daines in introducing the bill.

Read the bill text here.

Background:

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) play a critical role in bringing capital and financial services to a wide range of small businesses and families across Montana.  The “CDFI Fund Transparency Act” would require the Secretary of the Treasury to testify annually before the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees regarding the operations of the CDFI Fund during the previous fiscal year.

Sen. Warner leads the bipartisan Senate CDFI Caucus. In March, he led his colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Tresury Scott Bessent emphasizing the bipartisan support for the CDFI Fund and highlighting the Fund’s critical role in providing capital to underserved communities.

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