Actions by the new administration in Washington are creating far-reaching consequences for rural people and rural places. For instance, within days of taking office, the new administration froze a vast swath of federal grants and contracts. These actions jeopardized the financial stability of farms, businesses, organizations, and projects that serve rural communities across the country.
Since the initial freeze, the administration has gone on to terminate some contracts and restore others, while still others remain frozen. The Center itself has navigated both frozen and terminated contracts. Several of its peer organizations have faced even greater obstacles with funds that remained frozen much longer than the Center experienced. Even where funds have been restored, temporary freezes created considerable uncertainty about the future of federally obligated contracts.
The Center’s $62 million Solar for All award was frozen for four weeks, and two other awards totaling $16 million in funding remain caught in a court case over an agency termination action. The Center was a subrecipient of another award that was terminated. Two awards for which the Center had been selected, but for which it had not yet signed a contract, were also paused. In addition, we have seen upcoming annual grant cycles for federal programs paused or canceled, creating further uncertainty about the future of federal funding.
Many federal agencies have also experienced significant staffing cuts. For example, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) field staff in Rural Development, Farm Services, and Natural Resources Conservation Services all saw deep cuts to local staffing. These individuals provide valuable services to their communities. Cuts to USDA staff mean local constituents will face delays in accessing important services or not receive essential services at all. The agency-level firings at USDA are subject to a lawsuit that may reverse them.
Zooming out, cuts to agency staff and grant-making budgets across the federal government threaten to impact rural people and rural places in additional ways. Cuts to Social Security staffing, university research, medical research, library funding, and other such cuts will all affect rural people across the country.
It is crucial that Congress, which holds the authority over federal appropriations, take affirmative action to uphold federal funding obligations passed into law. To date, congressional response has been limited. In the face of actions by the administration and lack of action by Congress, the courts have stepped in in some cases and ordered restoration of funding or rehiring of fired agency staff. Court action is limited and has not addressed the full scope of the challenge.
The Center believes the federal government must honor its commitments to ensure funds appropriated by law and contractually obligated by agencies reach their intended purpose and support the communities that rely on them. As numerous programs, projects, and agencies face ongoing uncertainty, it is critical that members of Congress hear from the people they represent.
We encourage you to write to and call your representatives about the issues and programs that are important to you. If your elected officials hold town halls in your area, we encourage you to attend. There are some indications that public pressure is having an effect on lawmaker actions in Washington. We urge you to continue to weigh in.
Rural people and rural places benefit from a variety of federal programs. Federal funding—in various forms—plays an essential role for improving the lives of many rural Americans.
Find your representative at congress.gov/members/find-your-member.
