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Wednesday Update on Federal Grant and Loan Freeze

Written by Ann Oliva January 29, 2025

The Alliance is committed to keeping our local, state, and national partners informed of the changing circumstances regarding this week’s memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directing all federal agencies to temporarily freeze activities associated with the obligation and disbursement of all grants, loans, and other financial assistance.

First and foremost, we want to thank the thousands of people who sent emails and called their Members of Congress yesterday to push back against this directive by the Trump Administration. As a result, we are aware of several Members of Congress moving to make public statements in opposition to this action.

Further, a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was filed yesterday to block the OMB memorandum. Right before the 5pm deadline yesterday – when the freeze was scheduled to begin – a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to not proceed with the funding freeze until at least Monday, February 3rd, when there is another hearing scheduled.

Next Steps

Yesterday, a list of federal programs subject to an analysis under this order was made public, along with instructions that federal agencies are to complete. Details are unclear as to which specific programs will be subject to a pause and other possible impacts. The Alliance is operating under an assumption that until there is an explicit exclusion or exception, federal programming targeted to serve people experiencing homelessness will be impacted.

Please see our message from yesterday with recommendations for immediate next steps that Continuums of Care (CoCs) and recipients of CoC, Emergency Solutions Grants, and other federal grant funding may want to consider taking over the next few days. While these recommendations are specific to HUD Homeless Assistance Grants, they may also be applicable to other federal grants.

In the meantime, below are some additional updates as of this morning:

Status of Federal Accounting Systems. As of 9:00 AM today, eLOCCS, used by funding recipients to draw down grant funds, remains inaccessible. The Alliance has not received any information as to why these systems have been unavailable or when they will be back up in operation. In the meantime, grantees should use this time to prepare documentation so that funds can be drawn down as soon as those systems are re-opened.
Survey of Potential Impact. As you continue to work on the impact analysis and needs assessment of this “temporary pause,” please be on the lookout for a survey from the Alliance to gather insights from CoCs, homeless services providers, landlords, and other impacted entities that we can lift up in our advocacy to Congress and the Administration.
All HUD Technical Assistance Has Been Stopped. As of 5:00 PM yesterday, all entities delivering technical assistance under HUD’s Community Compass and National Homeless Data Analysis Project Grants have been ordered to stop work. Not only will this be of significant cost to the communities that these TA providers support, but some TA providers have abruptly lost their ability to work.
Continue to Take Action. Yesterday we saw phenomenal advocacy across our network. PLEASE DO NOT STOP NOW. Keep the communication to your Members of Congress going. The Alliance sent out an ACTION ALERT urging Congress to stand up and speak out against this latest action by the Trump Administration. You have unique credibility in your communities, so we need you to continue educating your Members of Congress on the impacts of even a short-term disruption in obligation and disbursement activity to grants, loans, and other financial assistance in your community.  If you used our online form yesterday, consider a custom letter or a phone call today. The important thing is that we keep the pressure on and refuse to allow the sense of urgency to fade away before Monday.

The Alliance is deeply grateful for all that you do in your communities, and we are committed to supporting you with timely information, guidance, and resources to advocate for your communities’ needs. On behalf of the entire staff and board of the Alliance, we thank you for your steadfast efforts to end homelessness.

Take care,

Ann Oliva
CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness