1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

Congress passed $324 million for the CDFI Program in 2025. Then again in 2026. Both times on a bipartisan basis. Both times signed into law. OMB Director Russell Vought has refused to release the money. Not a penny of the $578 million in program funds has been apportioned. On top of that, OMB has used Category C apportionments to freeze over a billion dollars more across three other accounts that support CDFIs — the CDFI Program account, the Emergency Capital Investment Fund, and the Capital Magnet Fund. This is not a policy disagreement. It is the executive branch unilaterally killing a program Congress funded. It is illegal under the Impoundment Control Act. It likely violates the Antideficiency Act. And it violates the general provision that prohibits agencies from using funds to implement cuts Congress never authorized. The 2025 funds expire in September. If OMB runs out the clock, the money is gone — and so is any pretense that Congress controls the purse. I am asking you to act now: demand OMB release these funds, investigate the abuse of Category C apportionments as a tool to override congressional authority, and put the responsible officials on notice that the Antideficiency Act carries personal liability — including up to two years in prison. You funded this program. Twice. Make it mean something.