In Idaho, the state Division of Financial Management has directed agencies not to utilize state general fund funds to cover any losses from a federal ban on loans and grants, while federal grant recipients scurry to determine how a federal freeze on grants and loans may affect their programs.
The freeze, which will take effect at 3 p.m. MT on Tuesday, will impact both the granting of new awards and the distribution of current grants and loans. It might have a nationwide impact of trillions of dollars. The state agencies, local government institutions, and federal grant recipients in the public and private sectors contacted by Idaho Reports spent Tuesday morning attempting to determine which of their programs are impacted by the freeze, though the exact effects are yet unknown.
Executive agency directors received a message on Tuesday morning from Lori Wolff, the Division of Financial Management administrator, requesting that they examine how the federal action affected their own budgets and promptly report any problems to their DFM budget analyst.
She also cautioned state agencies in the memo that they cannot use state monies to make up for federal losses. Payroll advances for employee jobs supported by government funding are included under this restriction.
Idaho is ready for situations such as these. According to Wolff, state entities that receive federal money all have an approved departure strategy. Kindly include such tactics in your contingency plan. In the event that federal monies are unavailable, each state agency impacted by this federal action that receives federal grants or assistance will provide DFM with a signed statement from the agency director detailing an exit strategy.
Wolff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Both the public and private sectors are uncertain.
When contacted for comment on Tuesday, almost all of the directors of the agencies and associations told Idaho Reports that they are still attempting to determine how the freeze will affect their activities.
Alex Adams, the director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told Idaho Reports that important programs like Medicaid and SNAP are carved out. Additionally, he released an OMB memo stating that funding for Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, small business and farmer funding, and other programs of a similar nature will not be suspended.
Despite White House promises that Medicaid is unaffected, states are apparently losing access to the Medicaid administration system during the budget freeze, which further complicates matters. Adams wrote, however, that those gateway problems might not be connected.
In a text message to Idaho Reports, Adams stated, “System maintenance is underway and should be finished soon.”
Executive director of the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities Christine Pisani said she hoped to get more information later in the day at a meeting she had scheduled with colleagues in other states. Pisani continued by saying that she had been assured that ICDD payroll would not be impacted by the freeze.
Idaho Reports spoke with Lee Flinn, director of the Idaho Suicide and Crisis Hotline, who said she was still learning more.
They are actively seeking advice from their lawyers and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to Jason Lantz, director of marketing and communications for the Idaho Housing and Finance Association.
It’s still unknown whether or how the federal funding freeze will impact the initiatives that Idaho Housing and Finance manages. Lantz sent a message to Idaho Reports via email. We plan to continue operating as usual until further clarification is obtained.
It’s unclear how the suspension will impact transportation funding from the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Laila Kral, executive director of the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council, told Idaho Reports.
Since it was a prior authorization, it has been unclear whether or not it will be left unaltered for the time being, Kral stated. Numerous grant projects have been approved and there are numerous ongoing projects in the state, however they are unable to proceed because their agreements have not been fulfilled. Many of these villages in Idaho get federal money, but it’s uncertain whether or not their projects will be implemented.
The communities are attempting to classify their local infrastructure projects according to financing sources, according to Kelley Packer, executive director of the Association of Idaho communities.
According to Packer, the National League of Cities is keeping an eye on those in order to provide information on when the monies will be available again, when they would disappear, and what our other alternatives would be. It’s rather unknown at the moment. For some of these programs, we are unsure if this pause is temporary or if it will eventually become permanent. We have no idea what to anticipate.
According to Packer, localities in Idaho would lose billions of dollars if federal funds were not made available.
According to Packer, the state already has significant transportation projects underway that are funded by the federal government. Some of it might be emergency services, such as fleets of police cars and fire trucks, among other things. To assist cushion the declining amount of property tax revenue that the cities get, they look to a variety of funding sources.
This week is the legislative conference for county leaders in Idaho. I haven t had a chance to dig into the impacts, Idaho Association of Counties executive director Seth Grigg toldIdaho Reportsover text.
Individual assistance, including social security, Medicare, food stamps, welfare benefits, and assistance going to individuals is not affected, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a Tuesday media briefing.
It s also unclear how the freeze may affect the state s current budget setting process for the upcoming fiscal year, happening over the next weeks in the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
We are awaiting additional guidance from the federal government on what this means for Idaho s budget process, committee co-chair Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, toldIdaho Reportson Tuesday morning.
As further details become available, this story will be updated.Additionally, Idaho Reports is gathering data on the potential impact of this decision on the amount of federal grants and loans received by state, municipal, and non-governmental organizations.
