Harlem’s Espaillat And Meng Announce Community Project Funding To Help Local Communities

Representatives Adriano Espaillat and Grace Meng, the two New York members of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

The committee funds federal agencies and programs—announced today a new process for state and local governments and non-profits to receive direct federal funding through the Appropriations process.

They have also created a guide to help New York nonprofits and government entities navigate the new Community Project Funding process in Congress.

Community Project Funding recognizes that Members of Congress know their districts best, and know the needs of their communities. Unlike the former congressionally-directed spending, also known as “earmarks”, the revamped Community Project Funding process will prioritize accountability, transparency, and strong community support.

New reforms require rigorous vetting, limits 10 community project requests from each Member of Congress, public disclosure of potential recipients on the Congressmember’s website, and certification that no Congressmember’s family can benefit from the project.

To assist potential New York recipients in learning more about the process, Espaillat and Meng created a concise fact sheet.

Eligible entities that can apply for funding include state or local governmental entities and non-profits organizations. All for-profit groups and entities are ineligible. Eligible projects are broken down by each spending bill.

Those interested in submitting a Community Project Funding request must consult with their congressional representative.

“After many years of a hiatus, we are excited to announce the newly reformed Community Project Funding in annual federal spending bills,” said Reps. Espaillat and Meng. “This new process will ensure that Members of Congress can work with their communities to identify projects which need funding, especially as we look to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. After all, Members of Congress know their districts best. We have prepared a short overview of how to identify those projects and what steps may be involved.”

A copy of the guidance can be found here.

Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx.

First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities.

He is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip.

Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.