The Interagency Community Investment Committee (ICIC) has released a Request for Information (RFI) to gather input from the American people on how to improve the effectiveness and impact of federal community investment programs.
The agencies invite feedback from community stakeholders—including members of state and local governments, civil society, as well as the private sector—to understand the specific challenges with accessing and working with federal community investment programs.
The Biden-Harris Administration is deploying trillions of dollars of public-sector investment authorized through programs under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. These transformational investments present an opportunity to implement federal service delivery solutions that will support catalytic growth in historically underserved communities and address racial and geographic economic disparities.
This Request for Information offers the public the opportunity to provide information on effective approaches for supporting access to affordable capital and financial services in historically underserved communities, including communities of color, rural communities, and Tribal communities. Specifically, the ICIC would like to understand (1) examples of successful projects that have blended different sources of public, private and philanthropic capital that may have been more difficult to accomplish or realize the full impact because of federal program requirements; and (2) how agencies can, to the extent feasible under the requirements governing the deployment of federal funds, support financial intermediaries that serve these communities such as Community Development Financial Institutions, Minority Depository Institutions, credit unions, and other community financial institutions.
Please comment by December 5, 2023. You can submit your response to the Request for Information online on the Federal Register.