Dear Community Action Colleagues,

As you are aware, the Department of Treasury issued guidance to states prohibiting the reimbursement of indirect costs in the emergency rental assistance funds passed into law late December 2020. We've heard from many of you that this is prohibitive to administering the funds. NCAF, CAP and CAPLAW have been working with Congress and the Department of Treasury to correct this issue. We need your help.

Please reach out to your Member of the House of Representatives and your Senators and ask them to contact the Department of Treasury to resolve this issue. (Search for your representatives here.)

Call or e-mail your best contact in each office. Please provide them some brief background information by phone or in your cover e-mail, and attach this 2-page description of the problem. If your Representative or Senators have any questions, please ask them to reach out to David Bradley, CEO of NCAF, at davidbradley@ncaf.org.

Below is a template telephone script or cover e-mail for your outreach:

"Congress passed into law $25 billion of emergency rental assistance at the end of December. The Department of Treasury has issued guidance to the states prohibiting the reimbursement of indirect costs, meaning agencies distributing the money cannot cover the costs of administering the program to keep people safely housed. In most cases, this guidance practically prohibits administering the funds.  [Describe what would happen to your agency, for example: Renters in our county owe a total of $23 million dollars. If we are unable to cover indirect costs, we cannot distribute these funds without going out of business.] This guidance is delaying needed community resources, and we ask that Representative/Senator reach out to the Department of Treasury to ask them to resolve this issue. It is urgent that the Department of Treasury fix this as soon as possible. [I've attached] a 2-page explanation of the issue for your convenience. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to David Bradley of the National Community Action Foundation at davidbradley@ncaf.org. Thank you so much for your help in this matter."

Best Regards,

Denise Harlow, MSW, CCAP
Chief Executive Officer

Ryan Gelman, Esq.
Project Director, Public Policy & Advocacy
Community Action Partnership
Learning Communities Resource Center  
1020 19th St., NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036