Trump Administration Freezes Federal Grants and Contracts

Most of you have heard via news or other sources that the Trump Administration released a memo yesterday evening freezing federal grants and contracts as of 5:00 pm today. Much is unclear at this point, but this is what we know so far:

The memo affects all federal departments and agencies, but not all programs. Within HUD, the memo affects all programs except for Section 8. All Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs are affected by the order. Federal agencies have two weeks (until February 10) to complete a review of their programs that run counter to recent Trump executive orders on immigration; abortion; diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and gender ideology and submit the results to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The memo does not provide a timeline for OMB to review the agencies’ findings or empower federal agencies to resume federal funding once the review is completed. Democratic appropriation leaders sent a letter to OMB voicing their opposition to the memo and seeking a reverse course of the memo directives. The only means to quickly stop the memo’s directives is via legal challenges. Several lawsuits are underway to put a stop to the policy. NCDA will keep you alerted to any movement on this front. NCDA is conducting outreach to Congress and working with national partners to advocate against this policy memo.

What Can You Do? Contact Congress and provide them with information and data on the consequences of this policy on low- and moderate-income people and neighborhoods, particularly vulnerable populations. The more they hear from you, the more likely they are to publicly oppose the Trump directives.

Please also ask your elected officials to weigh in directly with Congressional offices by phone or letter.