Leaders of conservative counties preach patience amid funding freeze, but Head Start money still locked

 

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- While the strongest pushback against the Trump administration's move to freeze federal grants this has come from Democrats, a holdup in federal spending is also affecting providers in the most conservative parts of southeast Wisconsin.

The operator of the Early Head Start program in Washington and Waukesha counties said Tuesday he was unable to access the online portal for requesting payments. Dr. Tim Nolan said the situation had hardly changed Wednesday. 

"We still have no money," Nolan said. "What we have is more mystery around the overall program."

The county executives of both Republican-leaning counties said Wednesday they supported the White House's push to cut federal spending, and they said it was too early for widespread worry.

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow said he did not think any of his agencies would be affected by eventual cuts. The Trump administration followed up the initial order with a memo stating it was primarily targeting grants dedicated to diversity and progressive environmental efforts.

"We're going through and still looking at what are the impact points. We've got the departments looking at what are the different federal grant programs that we have," Farrow said. "What are the impacts that could be there?"

Nolan is the CEO of the National Centers for Learning Excellence, which also operates the traditional Head Start program in Waukesha County.

He said throughout the day Tuesday and for most of the day Wednesday, he got a message from the online Payment Management System database stating, "Reviews of applicable programs and payments will result in delays and/or rejections of payments."

Nolan said he'd closed the daycare Wednesday and will do so again Thursday because the timing of the freeze has jeopardized his ability to pay staff.

"This is a terrible time in the month. So, we have a payroll coming up that we have to be able to meet," Nolan said. "And if I start staff back, now I'm running up more liability with no clear way to pay for it."

Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann said he was not worried any of his county's spending would be curtailed, and he believed partner agencies that operate through the county, such as Meals on Wheels, would get clarity soon.

"Mostly what we're hearing is just concerns from bureaucracies that are living and breathing this every single day," Schoemann said. "I think everybody just needs to take a pause and realize we can't keep spending money at this rate."

Schoemann said he was working closely with department heads to monitor for any issues, but emphasized he was confident any confusion would soon be resolved.

"We're having regular communication with our human services director, other departments, as well," he said. "But I'm not terribly concerned. Again, it's been 24-48 hours."

Facing a multi-state lawsuit and a federal judge pausing the spending freeze, the Trump administration rescinded the clarifying memo it issued Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added the original order was still in effect.

However, another federal judge indicated he was poised to also block the spending freeze, calling the decision to rescind the memo but keep the order "a distinction without a difference."

Nolan maintained the original order should have been much more specific.

"If they meant it to be certain federal programs, they should have stated those programs," he said. "As opposed to realizing that and trying to cleaning it up on Tuesday."

Farrow agreed the initial message could have been clearer, but he was also confident there would be clarity about what grants the administration will block while the aid portals come back online.

"I think in this situation, the communication may not have been as effective it could've been," Farrow said. "I think they're trying to clarify things as they move along."