TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S488-S489] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS Mr. KELLY. Mr. President, Arizona is a couple thousand miles away from here, and as folks know, we are a bit unique in the sense that we do not observe daylight savings time. What that means is that we are either 2 or 3 hours behind DC depending on the time of year. Right now, it is 2 hours. So usually when things start happening here in Washington that affect my State, me and my staff will hear from concerned Arizonans a little later in the morning, usually closer to 12 noon. That wasn't the case on Tuesday because that is the day that we all woke up to a vague, reckless memo from the Trump administration that said they would freeze all Federal grant funding. The memo was short. It was just two pages. It said: Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to the obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance. There was no list of programs it would impact and programs it wouldn't--no details. It was just a broad, unconstitutional mandate that pretty clearly intended to just grind everything to a halt. The calls and texts to me and my staff started immediately. As early as 6:30 a.m. Arizona time, my Southern Arizona director was hearing from a nonprofit concerned about what this meant to them. Ten minutes later, my Northern Arizona director got a text from a county supervisor, asking what this meant for their county's Federal grants that had already been awarded. On and on this went for the rest of the day. I would like to take some time to read through some of the examples of the concern and the real-life issues this created in my State. When I spoke to Governor Hobbs, early in the morning, the State's portals for Medicaid and Head Start were both down. They ended up being down for the better part of the day. She said that they were concerned immediately about how this would impact providers and families and parents and workers. She was also concerned about department of public safety programs. At that point, the State had more questions than answers because of the recklessness of this order. The Hopi Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, which provides housing vouchers and assistance for veterans, faced uncertainty because its funding fell under Federal rental assistance programs. The Flagstaff Housing Authority had similar concerns about how landlords would get paid next month under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. One landlord told us that they rent out a few units to low-income families and were worried that they wouldn't receive their payments, leaving them and their tenants in a horrible situation. Just yesterday, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joined the Maricopa Association of Governments to conduct the annual HUD Point-in-Time Count, which is funded by Continuum of Care dollars. This data is vital to Arizona's work to address homelessness, and a Federal freeze keeps homeless assistance grants from helping Arizonans. We heard from colleges across the State, where students were being told that their Pell grants could be frozen. A member of my veterans advisory committee told me that it had created chaos bordering on hysteria among veteran college students who had multiple programs that supported their education and that could be frozen. From the Arizona Food Bank Association, we heard immediate fears that families relying on SNAP--that is food stamps--on those benefits, could face disruption, putting food security for thousands of Arizonans at risk. What that means is that kids will not get to eat. In Mohave County, officials were concerned that Federal support through the Community Development Block Grant Program, which funds housing and economic opportunities for low-income communities, would no longer be available. Several community health centers said a stop on Federal funds would necessitate layoffs. Organizations were looking at having to shut down programs that treat miners--coal miners--with black lung and suicide prevention programs and substance abuse services. What this means is layoffs for counselors who treat folks who are suicidal--layoffs. The Arizona Department of Transportation told us that vital infrastructure projects are now in limbo. Funding for the I-40 interchanges in Window Rock and Lupton, which serve Tribal communities, they have been frozen. The U.S. 93 corridor improvements in Wickenburg, meant to modernize and expand a major highway, they are now stalled. And safety improvements for high-risk railroad crossings in Gilbert and Yuma are no longer moving forward, putting drivers at risk. The Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority has raised concerns about the future of clean drinking water State revolving funds, which provide essential loans and grants to communities to ensure that their drinking water is safe. Without access to these funds, projects aimed at improving water systems, including projects already partway through construction in rural and Tribal areas, could be delayed indefinitely. Cities and water users called to express concern that they would not be [[Page S489]] compensated for water savings that they are undertaking as part of the agreement to protect the Colorado River. Coconino County was concerned about funds they were planning to advance projects that protect communities from floods and wildfires. Not even our State and local law enforcement was spared from this chaos. I heard from Arizona's attorney general, Kris Mayes, about how the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program was impacted. This is a critical program, by the way, that funds our law enforcement's frontline efforts with the Federal Government to combat the fentanyl crisis and battle the Mexican drug cartels. This program that the administration tried to freeze helps fund the positions of over 700 law enforcement officers who are in the fight against drugs in Arizona. Multiply that times 50 across the country. At a time when we need to do as much as we can to combat the drug crisis, this administration attempted to freeze critical funding for my State's counterdrug efforts. Jennifer, in Tucson, a small business owner, provides training for Tribal health programs. She told us that her invoices can't be paid due to the Federal freeze. As an independent contractor, what that means is this isn't just an inconvenience; it would be devastating for her family and many others like her. Julie, in Sun City, works at a seniors center and has seen firsthand how Federal funding supports Arizona's elderly, helping them afford food and access to mental health services. It helps them afford and get some one-on-one support. She watched seniors panic as uncertainty grows over whether those resources will still be there next month. Kathy in Tucson, a mother of three daughters with disabilities, woke up to frantic messages from other parents who rely on Medicaid-funded support programs for their children. She described a wave of fear as families tried to log into the State portal, only to find it down, leaving them unsure whether the critical care their children needed will continue. In Apache Junction, Janice's husband is in a memory care unit, and Medicaid covers most of his room and board. If these payments had stopped, she didn't know how she could afford his care. And Michelle in Glendale, a 69-year-old diabetic, is struggling to survive on only $1,259 a month. If Medicaid was disrupted, she will be forced to choose between food and lifesaving medication. Christine in Flagstaff wrote to me about her brother-in-law who is currently fighting for his life in the hospital as part of a clinical trial funded by NIH. If that funding is pulled, so is his treatment, and he may die. Christine in Flagstaff--another Christine, also from Flagstaff--a disabled veteran, told us she simply can't afford increased VA copays if her benefits are impacted. Collin in Tempe, who runs a science startup, was notified that his NSF grant payments are paused, meaning that he can't pay his employees. What that means is he will have to lay them off. These are real jobs that affect real people. These jobs are in groundbreaking research projects that are now needlessly put in jeopardy. That is not an exhaustive list of the outreach that only my office received and the consequences in Arizona. I could go on for hours. On top of this, I understand that most counties, cities, and major organizations in Arizona held emergency meetings to try to understand how their operations would be impacted and what could they do about it. This administration tossed them into chaos. These aren't folks who think about things as Republicans or Democrats. These are folks who provide real services to real people in Arizona. They wake up every day to serve people, to solve problems. And it is not easy, not even on the best of days. But Tuesday, Tuesday wasn't the best of days; it was the worst. And for most of them, today hasn't been great either. I had the leaders of a couple of Arizona Head Start programs in my office here just today--earlier today. They were already scheduled to be there. One of these Head Start Program managers runs Head Start. She said she had a payment that they were owed, and they weren't able to access it, and it has been delayed. They receive these payments every 3 days, and they cannot hold major cash reserves. This program serves 500 Arizona families. They were not going to be able to make payroll. She made a plan to lay people off on Tuesday. She told me that it was based on their cash flow; that they probably should have laid these people off already. But they were able to call on some emergency reserves with the help of their board. But if the payments are delayed much further, these