Billions in federal funds unfrozen in Pennsylvania won’t help some local non-profits

PITTSBURGH — Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) announced Monday afternoon that $2.1 billion in federal funding is flowing once again in Pennsylvania.

The news comes 11 days after the governor filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing the order to freeze federal grants and loans, that countless programs rely on, is unlawful.

“Every single dollar we identified at the filing of our lawsuit is currently unfrozen and once again accessible to Pennsylvania state agencies,” Shapiro said.

During the uncertainty surrounding the reduced federal aid for research, the University of Pittsburgh put a hold on accepting new doctoral students on Friday.

In a statement Monday, however, the university said that the pause is now over:

“The university is in the early stages of extending PhD offers of admission as we continue to gather the relevant information in support of our teaching and research missions. Our goal is to properly support existing community members while also responsibly adding new members to the community. All parts of the University are strategically planning offers to align with anticipated fiscal constraints at the University.”

For some organizations, such as Pittsburgh-based Hello Neighbor, federal payments remain frozen.

“The Hello Neighbor of tomorrow is going to look very different,” said Hello Neighbor’s CEO & Founder Sloane Davidson.

The nonprofit helps recently resettled refugees and immigrants. But without that money to support those people coupled with a 90-day pause on refugees coming in, Hello Neighbor is struggling with difficult decisions.

“We have to make impossible choices — like how do we continue to pay for rent for our clients, food and cash assistance, other things that we feel morally ethically obligated to continue,” Davidson said.

In a drastic move on Friday, the small eight-year-old nonprofit cut half of its staff, 25 full-time workers under federal contracts who haven’t been paid since December.

“There has been no word from the federal government on if and when they will pay the invoices,” Davidson said. “We have to figure out how to serve as many clients as possible and serve the community while waiting to find out if the government will reimburse us for these invoices.”

Allegheny County GOP Party Chairman Jason Richey argues the spending pause is necessary.

In a statement, Richey said “Leaders of both parties have long warned that we are spending money we don’t have on programs that don’t deliver. President Trump’s program to rein in spending will root out waste and fraud so these dollars can be focused on programs that benefit the American people, not an inflated bureaucracy. While critical programs must and will continue to be funded, an audit of this sort was overdue.”

Meantime, Hello Neighbor’s CEO said while it’s getting harder to keep doors open, it isn’t planning on stopping any of its programs or closing.

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