How the Trump Administration Intends to Dramatically Cut Federal Grants, Part 2

In the coming months, we will gain a more precise understanding of what will be in and what will be out over the next four (and possibly eight) years after the OMB releases the full budget, and Congressional committees start sorting through and adjusting these priorities on their own. Nevertheless, it seems likely the Congress will follow Trump's emphasis on Homeland Security, Defense and Veterans Affairs. One response to his budget cuts might be to adjust (or re-imagine) your existing programs so that they align with the priorities he is setting. Below, the folks from Management Concepts review how Trump proposes to impact the budgets of still other federal departments, as follows: 

Department of the Interior

• Eliminating the Abandoned Mine Land grants, National Heritage Areas, and National Wildlife Refuge fund payments
• Reducing funding for more recent demonstration projects and initiatives that only serve a few Tribes.
• Leveragin] taxpayer investment with public and private resources through wildlife conservation, historic preservation, and recreation grants. These voluntary programs encourage partnerships by providing matching funds that produce greater benefits to taxpayers for the Federal dollars invested.

Department of Justice

• Safeguarding Federal grants to State, local, and tribal law enforcement and victims of crime to ensure greater safety for law enforcement personnel and the people they serve. Critical programs aimed at protecting the life and safety of State and local law enforcement personnel, including Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officer Resilience and Survivability and the Bulletproof Vest Partnership, are protected.

Department of Labor

• Eliminating the Senior Community Service Employment Program
• Eliminating the Bureau of International Labor Affairs' grant funding
• Decreasing funding for job training and employment service formula grants
• Eliminating the Office of Disability Employment Policy's technical assistance grants
• Eliminating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's "unproven" training grants

Department of Transportation

• Eliminating funding for the TIGER discretionary grant program

Department of the Treasury

• Eliminating funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund grant
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Reducing categorical grants by $482 million
• Eliminating more than 50 EPA programs, including: Energy Star, Targeted Airshed Grants, and infrastructure assistance to Alaska Native Villages and the Mexico Border

Small Business Administration

• Eliminating PRIME Technical assistance grants, Regional Innovation Clusters, and Growth Accelerators
• Following the budget’s release, Congress reviews the proposal and adopts a budget resolution, which sets spending thresholds. Congress then begins the appropriations process, which determines funding for each program.
• Since the President and members of Congress are elected by different constituencies, the priorities for Congress frequently differ from the President’s, therefore it is important to note that many of the budget’s proposals are unlikely to be enacted. 

Once OMB releases the full budget, and Congress begins its work, we will have a better understanding of how grant programs will fare in the coming years. If you are like me, you may be surprised to learn that some of these programs even existed in the first place. It is so easy to underestimate the size and scope of the federal government. Many of its programs only appeal to small, distinct interest groups and the rest of us do not have the time or the incentive to learn about them. 

In my experience, the best place to look for guidance regarding your own agency's federal grant supply is through your Washington lobbyist or through the staff of your local congressional representative. 

How the Trump Administration Intends to Dramatically Cut Federal Grants, Part 1

Last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released president Trump's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2018. (We are, of course, still using president Obama's budget.) The presidential budget typically lays out a president's priorities. As the analysts at Management Concepts indicate, Trump's budget for next year intends funding decreases for nearly every Federal department, except for Homeland Security, Defense, and Veterans Affairs. Additionally, Trump is calling for the elimination of 19 independent agencies, including grant-awarding agencies such as the African Development Foundation, Appalachian Regional Commission, Corporation for National and Community Service, Delta Regional Authority, Denali Commission, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities

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While the documents we currently have available are only the general outlines of Trump's budget, they do provide us with a heads up on what to expect for the next four years. Significantly, analysts can glean the following guidance for grant writers who include federal applications in their grant campaigns. In sum, Trump is calling for: 

Department of Agriculture

• Eliminating the Water and Wastewater loan and grant program
• Reducing funding for Rural Business and Cooperative Service by $95 million
• Eliminating the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education program

Department of Commerce

• Eliminating the Economic Development Administration
• Eliminating the Minority Business Development Agency
• Eliminating NOAA grants and programs supporting coastal and marine management, research, and education including Sea Grant

Department of Education

• Increasing funding for charter schools, new private school choice program, and Title I
• Eliminating Supporting Effective Instruction State Grant programs
• Eliminating the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program
• Eliminating the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program
• Reducing the Federal TRIO and GEAR UP programs by $193 million
• Eliminating or reducing funding for over 20 categorical programs, including Striving Readers, Teacher Quality Partnership, Impact Aid Support Payments, and International Education programs

Department of Energy

• Reducing $900 million from the Office of Science
• Eliminating the Weatherization Assistance Program and the State Energy Program

Department of Health and Human Services

• Increasing SAMSHA funding by $500 million to expand opioid misuse prevention efforts
• Reducing NIH spending by $5.8 billion
• Restructuring similar HHS preparedness grants to “to reduce overlap and administrative costs and directs resources to states with the greatest need”
• Eliminating the discretionary programs within the Office of Community Services, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)

Department of Homeland Security

• Eliminating or reducing State and local grant funding by $667 million including the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program, which is “unauthorized by Congress,” and Homeland Security Grant Program.
• Establishing a 25 percent non-Federal cost match for FEMA preparedness grant awards that currently require no cost match

Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Eliminating the Community Development Block Grant program
• Devolving community and economic development activities to the State and local level.”
• Eliminating funding “for a number of lower priority programs,” such as: the Home Investment Partnerships Program, Choice Neighborhoods, and the Self-help Homeownership Opportunity Program
• Increasing funding by $20 million for the mitigation of lead-based paint and other hazards in low-income homes
• Eliminating funding for Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing