What does the funding freeze mean to you?

As of this writing a federal judge has halted the executive order to suspending payments to programs of federal grants and loans.  This morning when the news came out many of us were just blown away.  We didn't know what it meant because there was no clarity regarding which programs would have funding suspended. There was a lot of speculation that medicare, medicaid and other payments would be delayed until at least February  10.  Let me explain how I see this at 5:32 pm, central time on January 28, 2025.  Remember things can change on a minutes notice.

The memo (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/27/us/omb-memo.htm) was actually issued last night.  Most of us missed it because we are just too tired to monitor the ever-changing news landscape.  It is very vague and that caused a lot of speculation about which programs would be affected.  Subsequently, "an order from U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan came minutes before the funding freeze was scheduled to go into effect. It lasts until Monday afternoon and applies only to existing programs"  (https://abc7chicago.com/post/federal-grants-loan-disbursement-paused-white-house/15843367/).  No new loans or grants will be awarded until agencies that monitor those grants can prove to the President they are aligned with his agenda.

What this means to you, my friends is this:  loans and grants to individuals (Medicaid, Medicare, Student Financial Aid) are NOT part of the freeze.  Federal Programs like Head Start and Free and Reduced lunch programs are not funded on an individual basis.  The funds often flow from the federal government through state agencies which administer the distribution of those funds, but the money comes from federal taxes not state funds.  If your community received a federal grant (and there a ton of federal grants for a ton of purposes) for a new water treatment plant or improvement to recreational facilities like a new soccer field the agency that awards that money has to prove to the Office of Business and Management that "they have completed a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President's executive orders".  

I am particularly interested in what will happen to individuals with disabilities.  Numerous agencies and programs receive direct federal funding to support some of our most vulnerable friends.  We need to be aware and vigilant to what happens next week with these funding freezes.