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The uncertainty of federal funding in the first weeks of the Trump administration has left some local organizations, including the Rockbridge Area Health Center, feeling cautious about what could happen over the next several months.
“While we are relieved that funding has been restored for now, we remain cautious as we anticipate potential changes that could impact our future funding and operations,” a Rockbridge Area Health Center spokeswoman said in a statement on Monday, adding that, “As we navigate the months ahead, we will continue to monitor policy developments and advocate for longterm, sustainable support for Community Health Centers. Our priority remains ensuring uninterrupted access to quality care for the families, seniors, veterans, and children who depend on us.”
The health center provided medical, dental and behavioral health services to more 10,000 individuals last year, 70 percent of whom are classified as low-income. Health centers like the RAHC, all of which rely on federal funding, treat 32 million people across the country, including 400,000 Virginians. A loss of funding through a federal spending freeze could result in a reduction in services or hours.
Some school programs could also be affected by a freeze on federal funds. Rockbridge County Public School Superintendent Phillip Thompson told The News-Gazette on Monday that he – like many other school systems – are consulting with the Department of Education on what the proposed freeze could mean. While some grants such as Title I funding would likely not be affected, it could impact grants that the county uses to fund after-school programs at Maury River Middle School and Natural Bridge Elementary School. He said that the school system “will try to find a way to fund them” if the funding goes away, but it is currently unclear if it will, or if it will just be reduced and if so, by how much.
The spending freeze was announced last Monday in a memo from the Office of Management and Budget regarding enforcement of some of the executive orders signed by President Trump during his first week in office. The memo called for federal agencies to “complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders” and to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
The spending freeze went into effect on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m. and gave agencies until Feb. 10 to submit “detailed information on any programs, projects or activities subject to this pause” to the OMB for review. It did not include any timeline on how long the review process would take.
A question and answer page regarding the memo on the White House website offered some clarification on which programs would be impacted, saying that Social Security, food stamps, student loans, Head Start and Pell grant funding was not subject to the freeze. It went on to say that any agencies who are “concerned that these programs may implicate the President’s Executive Orders, they should consult OMB to begin to unwind these objectionable policies without a pause in the payments.”
On Jan. 29, another memo from the OMB rescinded the spending freeze, and temporary orders filed by two different federal judges have halted execution of the freeze for the time being.
