Fed funding: More questions than answers

It’s been weeks since President Donald Trump signed executive orders implementing a federal funding freeze and put federal employees on notice their jobs may not be safe. Local entities that receive federal funding and retired federal employees are still trying to figure out their path forward with all the continued unknowns.

Sheila Bravo, Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement president and CEO, said she can see there may be a need to reduce the cost of the federal government, but the big-axe approach, instead of a scalpel approach, is leading to confusion and questions as to how executive orders are going to be enforced.

“There are so many different sources of federal funding,” said Bravo, pointing to libraries, the arts and environmental initiatives as just a few examples. “That’s what we’ve been communicating with the state’s federal delegation to see if they can help. There’s so much turmoil. It’s going to be an ongoing challenge.”

Bravo said the payments to some of the organizations DANA helps have been delayed, or altogether blocked, because of a new review process that was implemented. On top of that, she said, key points of contact have been laid off at the federal level, so there’s no one to address questions to on the other end of the phone.

In addition to direct federal funding, some of these organizations receive funding from the state, but that money is really a pass-through from the federal government, said Bravo. It’s really a series of unknowns, she said.

The executive orders don’t just affect the immediate needs of these organizations, said Bravo. This is the time of year when a lot of them are beginning to prepare budgets for their next fiscal year, and DANA is encouraging them to plan for different scenarios, she said.

The Center for the Inland Bays is one of those organizations. It receives a large portion of its budget from the federal government.

Christophe Tulou, CIB executive director, said 80% to 85% of its staff support comes from federal funding. There’s a lot of nervousness because of all the uncertainty, he said.

Tulou said one of the filters for the review process is to look at diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which are all concepts that aren’t sitting well with the current administration. It’s possible that climate change initiatives could get caught up in those measures, he said, listing water-quality testing, living shoreline projects and ongoing oyster reef projects as a few examples.

“Climate change initiatives, building resilience, is part of what we do,” said Tulou. “Nobody else does what we do.”

Tulou said CIB and other organizations lived this reality with Trump through his first administration. 

“We’re not surprised with the view of the new administration. It’s something we anticipated,” said Tulou. “However, the difference this time around is the speed in which it’s taking place and the lack of any consultation with Congress.”

Even with the unknowns, Tulou said CIB staff continue to work on projects and with partners.

“We have obligations and commitments to keep,” said Tulou. “We don’t have any fixed timeframe, so we’re maximizing what we can do while we can do it.”

Being so close to the heart of the federal government, the Cape Region has a large contingency of retired federal employees living locally.

Ken Sosne, acting vice president for National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association Chapter 1690 and legislative board member, retired from the Department of Health and Human Services in 2019. His wife is also a retired Department of Justice employee.

Sosne said there haven’t been local impacts yet, but there’s a general malaise because of all the unknowns. Everyone is uncomfortable because they don’t know how this will affect their benefits and pensions, he said.

Sosne said NARFE typically isn’t political, but the national office has filed two lawsuits – one on merit protection and one on data breach issues. The local branch is doing what it can to support those efforts, he said.

Despite the unknowns, Sosne said federal municipal and local employees continue to uphold their oath of office. Federal employees are neighbors, friends and colleagues doing the day-to-day work that makes the internet safer, makes sure mail is delivered and other services are rendered, he said.

“Our members took the oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution, and we as a chapter and NARFE members continue to do service even as retired,” said Sosne. “We continue to support our active colleagues locally in Delaware and nationwide as things continue to evolve with this current presidential administration.”