Coleman lobbies against federal funding cuts to cities

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is in Washington D.C., lobbying against federal funding cuts to cities.

Coleman said the city of St. Paul receives nearly $9 million a year in Community Development Block Grants. President Barack Obama has proposed a nearly 8-percent cut in those grants, and some Congressional Republicans want to eliminate them.

Coleman said the block grants provide critical support for cities.

"In St. Paul we do it to help create jobs particularly for youth during the summer," Coleman said. "We've used it quite extensively to help mitigate some of the challenges from the mortgage foreclosure crisis."

Coleman said the 8-percent cut could mean the elimination of entire programs such as Summer Youth Employment and the Living at Home Block Nurse program.

Coleman is attending the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, which runs through Wednesday.