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Committee hears concerns about direct federal grant cuts to Vermont community groups
Summary
Committee members discussed ongoing House Appropriations work to catalog federal funds flowing directly to Vermont organizations, and lawmakers cited examples of organizations losing federal grants and potential impacts on services.
A committee member reported that House Appropriations is compiling a spreadsheet of federal funding that flows directly to Vermont organizations, aiming to show how federal budget cuts could affect state services and community partners.
The committee heard that several local organizations receive federal grants that do not pass through state government and that some of those grants have recently been reduced or cut. The committee chair said Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity had “over $2,000,000 in grants cut,” and members discussed other examples such as historical societies and school programs that rely on federal dollars. Brandy Fleming noted that school systems receive federal grants for services to homeless students and that the number of homeless youth in some schools had risen.
A committee member who is coordinating the Appropriations spreadsheet asked members to share contacts for organizations that receive direct federal funding so the office can complete its review. Committee members identified the health-care ombudsman program and other community organizations as potentially vulnerable because a substantial portion of their funding is federal and could be subject to cuts.
The committee made no formal votes but asked staff to share the Appropriations spreadsheet and to notify members when the data compilation is available. Members said they would follow up with agency contacts and local organizations to understand specific programmatic impacts.
