Joint Fiscal Office, administration brief Appropriations Committee on federal funds exposure; SEFA shows Medicaid and transportation as largest federal shares

Emily Byrne, senior analyst at the Joint Fiscal Office, told the House Appropriations Committee on April 8, 2025, that federal funds represent roughly $3 billion of state appropriations and urged lawmakers to build a baseline understanding of where those funds flow and how departments use them.

"There's a lot going on at the federal level... they represent about $3,000,000,000 of the appropriations that the state makes," Byrne said, noting federal funding is concentrated in programs such as Medicaid and transportation and that the rules and timing of federal action vary by grant. Byrne recommended the legislature and executive branch review departmental uses, subrecipients and match obligations so Vermont can respond to federal changes.

Adam Gresham, commissioner of finance and management, described the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) the committee had received. "What you have in front of you is affectionately called the SEFA," Gresham said, explaining the SEFA reports FY24 expenditures by agency, federal award listing number (ALN), federal agency, and amounts passed through to subrecipients. He said the SEFA shows Medicaid as the largest federal program (roughly $1.5 billion by Byrne's figures) and federal highway aid and transportation…