ICAP Federal Funds Threatened: Where’s Noem?

Heartland exec Mike McDowell expresses concern that President Obama and "some in Congress" want to cut funding for the Inter-Lakes Community Action Program. McDowell extols the virtues of ICAP:

So many government programs are aimed primarily at urban areas. This is one of the few that we can use to benefit primarily rural communities. The list of ICAP activities benefiting low and moderate income persons is long and effective and will be lost if the funding is terminated [Mike McDowell, "Don't Defund ICAP,"HCPDBlog, 2011.03.18].

I don't know which line in the federal budget funds ICAP—if anyone can provide me that information I'll be much obliged. More importantly, I'm sure our Congresswoman Kristi Noem will be much obliged, as I'm sure she will want to explain to Speaker Boehner the importance of maintaining funding for important programs like ICAP that provide vital services to her rural and low-income constituents.

Update 09:11 CDT: Perhaps McDowell refers to the Community Services Block Grant program, "the primary funding source for community action programs." President Obama proposed cutting CSBG funding in half, from $700 million to $350 million. The House (i.e., Noem and Boehner) voted to soften the blow by only cutting CSBG to $400 million.

Update 09:19 CDT: The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel notes that Noem et al. also want to eliminate nearly all CSBG funding from the remainder of this year's budget:

The cuts would disrupt the antipoverty services provided by 1,065 community action agencies nationwide to over 20 million low-income people, including 5 million children, 2.3 million seniors and 1.7 million people with disabilities. What makes the cuts even more insane is that the agencies generate $6.54 from state, local, and private sources for every federal dollar received, according to the Coalition on Human Needs [Katrina vanden Heuvel, "The Human Cost of Slashonomics," The Nation, 2011.03.21].

But who cares about those darn poor people? As long as Kristi's fellow rich farmers get their subsidies, everything is fine, right? Tell me again, Mr. Crissman, who's deranged here: me or Congresswoman Noem and her spending priorities?