House Appropriations Committee checks in; flags federal funding risks and incoming education bill

The House Appropriations Committee held a brief check-in on April 1, 2025, to discuss committee scheduling, upcoming briefings on an education funding bill and potential impacts from shifts in federal funding.

Committee leaders said the education bill that moved from the House Education Committee to House Ways and Means would be posted for notice on Tuesday and expected to be in Appropriations the same day, with a tight turnaround for committee action. The chair said the committee has asked Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark and Jenny Samuelson to brief members on how recent budget adjustments could affect agency payments and timing. The chair said, “we don't have a lot on the calendar right now, but we hope to have some things on there,” and urged members to begin reviewing a 52-page education bill in advance of its committee appearance.

The vice chair highlighted a set of agency reports newly posted to the committee website, including reports from the Department for Children and Families on residential youth treatment, Act 13 housing reports, performance indicators for the Vermont Weatherization Assistance Program, a report concerning emergency involuntary procedures at River Valley Therapeutic Residence, a Department of Health substance-abuse prevention oversight report, the Department of Taxes tax-expenditure report, and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation report on the Vermont National Guard Tuition Benefit Program. The vice chair said members are “welcome to read” the posted documents and pointed members to the committee’s reports page.

Members also discussed federal funding risks. One committee member summarized a national discussion of Medicaid finances, noting a cited projection that Medicaid could grow about 5.2% annually over the next decade and that a federal proposal discussed on national television aims to slow that growth; the member referenced an $800 billion reduction target over 10 years in the broader federal proposal. Committee members discussed joint fiscal office (JFO) work to assemble a spreadsheet and a live JFO web page that lists federal monies secured and items at risk; members were encouraged to check that page for updates, including new transportation postings.

A separate federal funding item raised by members involved cuts to Food Bank purchasing contracts: committee members said one provider reported a roughly 20% reduction in the federal funding it uses to buy federal food products, which committee members described as translating to about a 4–5% reduction in the organization’s overall food-buying budget. Members also reported that at least five federal grants in Vermont — across agencies including Health and Human Services and Education — have been pulled back or reduced; committee discussion included an example where $300,000 was clawed back from a $35,000,000 grant and other cases where more than half of a grant award was reclaimed.

Committee members said JFO and legislative counsel (referred to as “ledge council” in the meeting) will be asked to come to a single-day briefing to explain policy and fiscal elements of the education bill, and to provide a separate Friday update on education funding details. No formal committee votes or motions were taken during the check-in.

The chair asked staff to continue negotiating scheduling with House Ways and Means so officials from Ways and Means and agency leaders can appear in Appropriations for fuller briefings, rather than asking members to vote shortly after first seeing bill materials. Members closed the check-in by noting the need to track federal fund changes closely as the session continues.