Philadelphia worries about losing $36 million from block grants

Philadelphia officials are worried about what could happen if the city loses a major chunk of its Community Development Block Grant funding, as is being debated in Congress. 

Mayor Michael Nutter said getting rid of community development block grants would take $36 million from Philadelphia.

“We use these funds not only to invest in programs and projects and build great buildings but also it leverages money in the community and we have more revitalization,” said Nutter.

Under the stimulus plan, Philadelphia got even more money than usual through the block grants.

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U.S. Senator Bob Casey says he understands cuts, but they shouldn’t hurt necessary programs.

“There are lots of ways to cut spending lots of ways that frankly aren’t getting enough attention in Washington because there are some who just want to take a part of the budget and slash and slash and keep slashing,” Casey said.

The spending cuts are on hold for now as the President and Congress hammer out a new budget.

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