This chart shows the total housing funds spent by each county in 2024. UERPC Executive Director Rachelle Howe said, without federal funding, much of this assistance wouldn’t be possible. (Graphic submitted)
By Zach Jensen,
Several Decorah area nonprofits began the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 28 with confusion and concern after the Office of Management and Budget — part of United States President Donald Trump’s executive office — released a memorandum freezing all federal funding effective as of 5 p.m. that afternoon. As of press time, two federal judges had issued orders which temporarily halted the freeze.
The OMB memo, which said Social Security and Medicare were not included in the freeze, would affect a total of 38,000 active grants in the U.S., totaling $714.5 billion, according to the bipartisan lobbyist group Thorn Run Partners.
“It caused a lot of chaos,” said Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Rachelle Howe. “We were getting many, many calls from folks — especially on Section 8, our housing authority. I had one lady call in and was like ‘How do I know my rent is going to be paid?’ I couldn’t help her, because I really did not know if Section 8 — if HUD — was included. There’s always room for betterment, but you can’t shut people off tomorrow and expect them to be okay. Especially low-to-moderate-income people. How can she save up her rent payment in a week? We service 444 families on rental assistance. If that goes away, there is no landlord around who is going to let them stay in their homes.”
Howe went on to call the hypothetical situation a potential travesty for the region, later noting it could be detrimental for Upper Explorerland.
“We might not exist,” Howe said. “It’s hard to say, because we don’t know exactly what programs he’s talking about. If it’s HUD, we’re going to have a problem.”
Trisha Wilkins, chief executive officer at Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation, said she was most concerned about the uncertainty surrounding which programs would be impacted and when. NEICAC serves approximately 10,000 residents in Iowa’s seven most northeastern counties — all of whom would be in jeopardy if the funding freeze occurred, Wilkins said.
Full article in the February 6 Decorah Leader.
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.