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Virginia reports $461 million in paused federal grants, largest pauses in HHR and transportation
Summary
The secretary of finance told the Senate Finance Committee roughly $461 million in federal grants remained paused; health and human resources and transportation grants account for the largest shares, and the administration expects some of the paused funds to remain frozen.
Secretary Steve Cummings told the Senate Finance Committee on June 4 that federal grant actions continue to affect Virginia program plans: roughly $461 million in federal awards remained paused, down from larger totals earlier in the administration.
Cummings said the paused total reflects pandemic-related funds, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) awards and IRA-related pauses and specific federal agency reviews. “As of last week, approximately $461,000,000 remains paused,” he said, adding the administration expects roughly $350 million to $400 million of that amount to remain frozen.
The largest paused categories cited were Health and Human Resources (HHR) — about $271 million of earlier COVID‑response grants that were rescinded or paused — and transportation (approximately $106 million), including an IIJA grant for an electric vehicle charging network. Cummings said planning and a small pilot installation had been completed for 72 charging stations before the pause took effect.
Committee members asked about digital equity and broadband funding; Cummings said the administration has a digital equity capacity grant of about $18 million paused within Commerce and Trade and that he would follow up on larger BEAD allocations and recent federal changes to eligibility.
On legal or enforcement options to recover paused funds, Cummings said the administration prefers direct engagement with federal officials and is in frequent contact about reclaiming paused awards rather than pursuing litigation.
The administration also noted that some paused funds have been released over time and that the state is working through an exercises to identify which paused awards can be restored.
