On Monday, January 27, President Trump released a two-page memo instructing federal agencies to temporarily cease all federal financial assistance and grant programs. According to one article, this includes diversity programs. Fortunately, numerous articles state that it will not include Social Security or Medicare benefits, as well as services provided directly to individuals. https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/27/politics/white-house-pauses-federal-grants-loan-disbursement/index.html
The policy goes into effect at 5 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, January 28, but it is unclear how it will be implemented and the potential legal claims that will be brought against it. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) does have authority to grant exceptions to the policy on a case-by-case basis. One article estimated that such programs make up 20 percent of the country’s budget. The wide swath of the impacted programs directly impact low-income communities.
ACB has just learned about the memo and is unsure about all of the programs that will be impacted. We will listen closely to see how the memo will directly impact the blind and low-vision community. We ask that members be patient with us as we work to better understand the implications of this new memo.
Posted on January 28, 2025