Members press USDA over frozen funds and program cancellations as Rollins says most releases complete

WASHINGTON — House appropriators pressed U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on funding freezes and program cancellations Tuesday, saying farmers and schools have been left uncertain while the department reviews multiprogram spending.

The disputes centered on roughly $20 billion that the department paused after the administration took office and a set of programs — including Local Food Purchase Assistance and Local Food for Schools — that members said were abruptly canceled or left unpaid. "This administration has unlawfully frozen and impounded congressionally appropriated funds," Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro said, adding that the pauses had left farmers and school districts without promised support.

Why it matters: appropriations oversight determines whether congressionally approved funds reach producers, schools and food banks. Members said the freezes damaged trust and created cash-flow problems for recipients who had made spending decisions based on federal commitments.

At the hearing Secretary Brooke Rollins defended the department's work while acknowledging the review. "The 20,000,000,000 that was frozen, has all been reviewed and released down to the final 5,000,000,000," Rollins said. She added that remaining reviews were intended to align spending with the administration's priorities and to guard against waste, fraud and abuse.

Members on both sides described concrete impacts. DeLauro said cancellations and freezes affected programs ranging from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Rural Broadband grants to local school purchasing agreements. "They canceled over $1,000,000,000 in funding for programs that help schools, food banks, purchase food directly from local farms," she said, and said Connecticut alone stood to lose nearly $4 million from the two local food programs.

Secretary Rollins disputed some characterizations and said the department has complied with court orders and is working to finish reviews. "All but 5,000,000,000 have been line by line and unfrozen," she told the subcommittee and asked members to provide specific instances where offices or agreements had not yet been paid so the department could address them.

Context and next steps: lawmakers pressed for a timeline and more detail about what remained under review. Rollins said much of the work to reorient funds was complete and that the department was communicating with governors and congressional offices to resolve outstanding obligations.

Members warned that delays could force farmers, school districts and nonprofit partners into insolvency or cause projects to stop. The committee asked USDA to provide more granular accounting and to ensure the department honors congressionally appropriated obligations unless a legal reason prevents payment.