Washington Tuesday night, the Trump administration will temporarily halt payments on a number of federal programs, depriving Americans who depend on potentially trillions of dollars in financing and perhaps igniting a legal battle over Congress’ constitutional spending power.
Although it wasn’t immediately obvious which specific programs were affected, the two-page statement from the Office of Management and Budget announcing the freeze seemed to apply to all government financial aid, including grants and loans. Medicaid was not mentioned in the memo footnote, which stated that it should not be interpreted as affecting Medicare or Social Security benefits.
According to the OMB memo, financial support should be allocated to implementing Administration priorities, directing taxpayer dollars to create a safer and stronger America, relieving citizens of the financial burden of inflation, unleashing American manufacturing and energy, putting an end to wokeness and the weaponization of government, fostering government efficiency, and Making America Healthy Again.
The programs that will be temporarily halted while OMB examines which federal expenditure it determines is appropriate are listed in a separate memo.
Among the programs impacted are Head Start, the Department of Agriculture’s Tribal Food Sovereign program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance, or LIHEAP, program, the Veterans Affairs Department’s grants for suicide prevention and legal services, and several Department of Justice sexual assault prevention initiatives.
In a letter to acting OMB Director Matthew J. Vaeth, the leading Democrats on the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations committees expressed concern about the impact the payment halt would have on citizens nationwide and questioned whether it was lawful for the executive branch to attempt to overrule the legislative branch on spending decisions.
According to a letter from Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the magnitude of the funding halt, which was approved by Congress on a bipartisan basis, is astounding, unprecedented, and will have disastrous effects nationwide.
Even if we may disagree strongly on certain issues, we should all work together to protect the Constitution and the rules of our country. Murray and DeLauro wrote.
They said, “We will continue to work tirelessly with members in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle to defend Congress’ power of the purse.” We expect you to reverse course in your capacity as Acting OMB Director to ensure that the nation’s spending laws are executed as intended and that requirements written into law are faithfully satisfied. After all, the law is the law.
During a press conference on Tuesday morning, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that he has discussed a legal challenge to the spending limit with New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
This morning, I had a conversation with my attorney general. According to Schumer, she is the head of the state attorneys general association. They will immediately go to court over this catastrophe.
The Constitution’s Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 gives Congress the so-called power of the purse, which allows it to authorize government expenditures.
Regarding that constitutional power, Congress has enacted a number of legislation, such as the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which states that the president cannot just refuse to spend funds that Congress has appropriated.
Russ Vought, Trump’s choice for OMB Director, has frequently referred to that statute as unconstitutional and stated that he thinks the president has the power to disregard parts of the budget law that Congress has passed and signed into law.
Although it has not yet done so, the Senate is expected to confirm Vought as the White House budget director in the coming weeks.
The OMB memo’s ambiguous and contradictory language makes it difficult to determine whether funding for public schools, community health centers, state and local law enforcement, veterans housing, Medicaid health care, public services on tribal lands, etc. is in jeopardy, according to a social media post by Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank.
Funded by taxpayer monies, state, local, and tribal governments, school districts, nonprofit organizations, and private charities provide services that we all rely on; they cannot operate without resources and clarity, therefore this misunderstanding and seeming withholding of funding is not a political ploy. Parrott penned. Despite the fact that Congress has passed legislation requiring the Executive Branch to provide funding for public services, the Trump Administration appears intent on undermining Congress.
During the second term of then-President Barack Obama, Parrott served as associate director of the Education, Income Maintenance, and Labor Division at OMB.
The OMB letter may potentially stop service to millions of vulnerable seniors who have no other way to buy or prepare meals, according to Jenny Young, Meals on Wheels America’s chief of staff and vice president of communications.
Additionally, local Meals on Wheels providers are experiencing pandemonium as a result of the current lack of clarity and uncertainty. They are unsure if they will receive reimbursement for meals given today, tomorrow, or for however long, Young said. Sadly, this means that elders may become anxious if they don’t know where they will get their next meal. These programs are already underfunded, so this makes matters worse. In general, local suppliers are unable to withstand such a blow, particularly if it continues for a lengthy length of time.
According to Young, the Administration on Aging oversees the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program, a grant program that contributes to Meals on Wheels financing.
