IMPORTANT NOTE: this post is not intended to be political or inspire political discourse. We are focused on providing resources and assistance to any entity or individual who may be affected when the recently announced freeze on federal funding is implemented.
Tuesday morning, Jan. 28, Americans woke up to the news that under order from President Donald Trump, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a memo Monday outlining a freeze of trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and other forms of federal financial assistance. GOOD Morning Wilton is making an effort to see how this order will impact Wilton.
The order could have far-reaching impacts for individuals as well as on state and local governments; disaster relief aid programs; education, transportation and infrastructure funding; small business loans; hospitals and medical researchers; and non-profit social, health and welfare organizations. The order is set to take effect at 5 p.m. today.
The New York Times reports that during today’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the grant freeze “will not apply to programs going to individuals, specifically naming Social Security, medicare, welfare and food stamps.”
The memo, from OMB Acting Director Matthew J. Vaeth, spells out the intent to dedicate federal financial assistance to align with Presidential priorities. “Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities [and] requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance’ programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.”
The memo lists actions that federal agencies “must pause,” including: “(i) issuance of new awards; (ii) disbursement of Federal funds under all open awards; and (iii) other relevant agency actions that may be implicated by the executive orders, to the extent permissible by law, until OMB has reviewed and provided guidance to your agency.”
The news has inspired confusion and worry among many people who depend on federal funding, and it’s still unclear exactly how the freeze will impact anyone at the local level. GOOD Morning Wilton has reached out to Town of Wilton and Wilton Public Schools officials for comment about what, if any, consequences they believe this order may have on Wilton. For the most part, they too are unsure and are trying to determine how this will play out.
“The Western Council of Governments (WestCOG) just this minute sent us a notice on this. It is still too early to tell how much of what Wilton receives is federal versus local. We should know more as the effect of the pause is felt,” First Selectman Toni Boucher emailed.
At least one infrastructure project Wilton has in the mix that involves federal funding is a $1.425 million earmark secured for the Town of Wilton by Congressman Jim Himes (D). The money is intended to cover the design and construction costs of a storm mitigation sewer system for the Wilton High School sports complex and surrounding fields, which sustained heavy weather-related damage from Hurricane Ida and were pummelled a second time during the August 2024 floods.
The earmark for Wilton was part of the $1.7 trillion Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations bill that Congress passed and President Biden signed into law just before the end of 2022.
Superintendent Kevin Smith is also trying to determine what it means for the Wilton School District. “It’s unclear at the moment. I don’t have enough details to fully understand what this freeze means. Once I learn more, I’ll provide an update,” he emailed GMW.
In the meantime, if you are a resident or affiliated with a Wilton-specific organization or entity and believe you will be impacted by the freeze, please email GOOD Morning Wilton with a brief overview of how you will be impacted and what contingency or emergency steps you are taking. Please also forward any resources or suggestions for Wilton individuals or organizations. While we cannot offer editorial coverage to every organization or institution that may feel the effect of this order (including those that are more generally focused or based outside of Wilton) we will determine in the near future how we can help.