More than 50 local governments oppose federal rule restricting billions in grants

OAKLAND, CA — If a sweeping new Trump administration rule becomes reality, more than 50 local governments today warn that billions of dollars in federal grants for cities and counties would be at risk. 

The Office of Management and Budget’s proposed rule, purportedly supported by more than 40 federal agencies, would radically and unlawfully overhaul how federal agencies administer the flow of federal money. These funds were allocated by Congress to support disaster relief, health care, transportation, infrastructure, housing, development, education and social services that communities across the country rely on. 

Public Rights Project filed a comment on behalf of local governments opposing the rule, asserting that it violates the Constitution, attempts to sidestep Congress and ignores rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act. The comment shows how the rule would politicize the grantmaking process in unprecedented and significantly harmful ways, allowing the  federal government to terminate grant awards “on a whim.” Signers also include the Conference of Mayors — a nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more.

“Local governments depend on federal grants to keep communities safe, healthy and running smoothly,” said Toby Merrill, litigation director at Public Rights Project. “This proposal would inject enormous chaos and uncertainty into cities and counties, putting essential services at risk. Communities shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of politicized attempts to change how federal funding is spent.”

Our comment details the immense harm the rule would cause to local governments, including:

• Funding disruption and uncertainty: The rule would “create an environment of uncertainty” for local officials who could see funding suddenly terminated for almost any reason, including political reasons. For some local agencies, federal money is almost 60% of their annual budget. Under this rule, budgets could be thrown into turmoil.
• Slashing critical programs: Cities and counties would have to cut crucial programs, fire staff, halt work on half-completed infrastructure programs, cancel contracts and cut or reduce life-saving services.
• Increased public health risk: Local governments use this funding to protect the health and safety of their residents. In one county, for example, losing this funding would make it harder to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks.
• Unnecessary administrative burdens: The rule would create more red tape by requiring extra written justifications for routine payments and forcing smaller grant recipients and subcontractors to use federal identity checks designed for large contractors.

Local governments are urging the administration to withdraw the proposed rule and continue to follow the laws set by Congress that control federal grantmaking.

Read the comment and see the full list of signers here.

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