Appropriations committee hears how congressionally directed spending could help Vermont projects but cautions it’s slow money
Loading...
Summary
State directors for Sen. Sanders, Sen. Welch and a House member’s office briefed the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 24 about congressionally directed spending/community project funding, outlining awarded projects, match and timing rules, and application deadlines; staff emphasized the funds often take months to access.
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — State directors for Vermont’s federal delegation told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 24 that a fresh round of congressionally directed spending (CDS), also called community project funding in the House, has awarded scores of small- and mid-size projects across the state but cautioned local governments and nonprofits that the money is not immediately available.
“Congress ionally directed spending projects are sort of a HOV lane for competitive grants,” said Catherine “Katie” Van Hase, state director for Sen. Bernie Sanders, describing CDS as a way to put nominated projects to the front of agencies’ grant lists while still requiring an agency application and review. Van Hase listed several Vermont projects that were nominated and funded, including $4,450,000 for Vermont Electric Cooperative metering upgrades, a dental clinical training facility in Colchester that will house about 40 dental chairs, and $2,380,000 for the Johnson Health Center to expand specialty services for people with substance-use and mental-health needs.
Rebecca Ellis, state director for Sen. Peter Welch, told the committee that agencies move at different speeds and warned: “this is slow money.” She said agencies commonly give applicants months to prepare application materials and that recipients typically have about three years to spend awards; extensions depend on each agency’s policies.
Committee members pressed staff for details on local matches and indirect costs. Van Hase said some subcommittees require a local match and that the match tends to shrink the more rural a community is; she added the delegation tries to limit administrative overhead to “10% or less” when assessing projects.
Jessica Nordhaus, the house office director who handles community project requests, outlined differences in the House process: representatives are limited to 15 nominations each and tend to secure smaller awards, often under roughly $1 million. Nordhaus noted several request amounts were reduced in the awards — for example, a jointly requested Burlington river project that sought $8,000,000 received $850,000 — and said applicants should revise budgets where appropriate.
Staff emphasized hands-on support for smaller towns with limited grant experience: offices will host webinars, offer technical assistance, and provide letters of support. “We talk to each other,” Van Hase said, describing inter-office coordination to maximize awards for Vermont.
On practical timing, Ellis said her office planned to open an application portal imminently and briefed the committee on likely windows. “Our office is hoping to open the portal next week and have the portal open March 2 to April 2,” Ellis said. Staff urged municipalities to prepare now, because some award processes have turned around in days in past cycles.
The delegation also flagged that some CDS awards remain dependent on pending appropriations — notably items tied to the Department of Homeland Security — and therefore cannot be drawn down until those appropriations are finalized.
The committee did not take votes. Staff closed by encouraging members and local officials to reach out for help navigating agency requirements and application steps.
