Lawmakers, nonprofit leaders at joint hearing warn federal cuts and payment delays are imperiling services

At a joint California Senate and Assembly select committee hearing, lawmakers and nonprofit leaders warned that recent federal funding changes and frozen federal grants are squeezing California nonprofits and could force cuts to services that communities rely on.

The hearing brought together community foundation leaders, food-bank executives, state emergency officials and long-term disaster recovery organizers who described a sector operating at scale but under growing financial stress. "These are not new challenges in and of themselves," said Laura Seaman, who leads the League of California Community Foundations, but the current combination of scale, scope and speed of federal actions is creating "operational chaos" for many organizations.

Speakers emphasized two linked problems: an immediate increase in demand tied to federal program cuts and administrative practices that leave nonprofits vulnerable during funding disruptions. "The passage of HR 1 represents the most severe cuts to our safety net programs in history," said Monica White, president and CEO of FoodShare Ventura County, adding that the legislation could reduce CalFresh and other supports for millions in California and that FoodShare served 250,000 individuals last year. White said cancelled federal commodity shipments forced her food bank to replace about 200,000 pounds of food at a cost of roughly $400,000 and to scale back other programs.

Panelists and…