[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 people who work for her will not have 
jobs. That means it doesn't only affect them--they are out of a job--
but there are 500 Arizona families who suddenly don't have childcare or 
the additional services that Head Start provides to parents and 
families.
  We hope it doesn't come to that. Thankfully, their attempts to freeze 
funding have been blocked by a court. But this had real consequences in 
Arizona to a lot of people. And that is multiplied across the country.
  Our Head Start leaders are in DC for a national conference right now, 
and they said every person here is dealing with the same issue. They 
are in a panic mode trying to keep their employees on the payroll, and 
their doors open so they can continue to serve families.
  Head Start is probably one of the best investments that our country 
makes. It helps kids get ahead. It provides parenting training. It 
helps working parents with childcare so they can earn a paycheck.
  The recklessness and the incompetence of the Trump administration 
threw that program into utter chaos in just a day.
  And I don't believe this is over. We need clear guidance, and we need 
strong leadership. This administration hasn't provided that, and it is 
hurting Arizonans.
  I thought last week, when the President pardoned criminals who beat 
up cops, would be the worst thing that he would do this month. Now I am 
not so sure.
  This needs to be fixed, and the President--the President on 
Pennsylvania Avenue--should take steps to ensure that he doesn't make 
mistakes like this again.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ricketts). The Senator from Connecticut.

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