Because the Trump administration continues its makes an attempt to impose situations on federal grants, a coalition of 60 native governments — together with the counties of Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo — is asking a federal decide to dam the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies from including stipulations to grants that would put a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in danger within the area.
Since taking workplace earlier this 12 months, President Donald Trump has issued a slew of government orders that require grant recipients to conform together with his agenda — for instance, prohibiting applications that help abortion, gender ideology and variety, fairness, and inclusion, and guaranteeing compliance with federal immigration enforcement.
An amended criticism filed on July 10 builds on an preliminary lawsuit from Could that opposed situations being positioned on grants from the Division of Housing and City Improvement and the Division of Transportation. The lawsuit, led by King County, Washington, was filed within the U.S. District Court docket for the Western District of Washington.
On June 3, U.S. District Court docket Choose Barbara J. Rothstein granted a preliminary injunction within the preliminary case, stopping the Trump administration from imposing situations on federal grants from HUD and the DOT.
Now, the coalition is trying to defend funding from HHS, which is the most important grant-making company in america.
In accordance with the amended lawsuit, the Trump administration’s “unlawful attempts to repurpose federal grant programs established by Congress harm Plaintiffs by threatening more than $12 billion in already-awarded and soon to be awarded funds” throughout HUD, DOT and HHS.
Kavita Narayan, the chief assistant county counsel for Santa Clara County, stated federal legislation requires that any situations positioned on grants should be associated to the aim of the funding.
Trump’s limitations, she stated in an interview, “in addition to being antithetical to our values, have absolutely no relationship to health care funding. Health care as a safety net provider of county services is something that we really care deeply about and view as one of our most fundamental responsibilities that the community counts on us for.”
A number of different Bay Space jurisdictions which have joined within the lawsuit, together with San Jose, Oakland and Pacifica. Santa Clara County and San Francisco, stand to see the largest fiscal impacts if Trump is ready to add situations on HHS grants.
Santa Clara County receives greater than $275 million in grant funding yearly from HHS, with two-thirds of that going to the county’s social providers company to help youngster abuse prevention initiatives, foster younger applications, adoption providers and applications for seniors and people with disabilities. The remaining $68 million in HHS funding goes towards quite a lot of public well being applications that intention to forestall infectious illness and help maternal and youngster well being, amongst different applications.
Santa Clara Valley Healthcare — the county-run well being and hospital system — can also be dealing with an estimated $1 billion in misplaced income within the coming years as a result of cuts to Medicaid in what Trump dubbed his “big, beautiful bill.”
San Francisco receives roughly $325 million of HHS grants annual, together with $90 million from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, $48 million from Well being Assets and Companies Administration, $19 million from Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Companies Administration and $148 million from the Administration for Youngsters and Households.
“These grants provide billions in funding that help our city support early childhood development, health services, safe and effective transportation and housing to our most vulnerable,” San Francisco Metropolis Lawyer David Chiu stated in a information launch. “These new grant conditions not only violate the Constitution, but they also have nothing to do with the purpose or performance of these grants. This is part of Trump’s strategy to push his extreme political agenda by threatening local programs and budgets.”
The newest criticism over HHS grants is a part of a slew of lawsuits filed by Santa Clara County and San Francisco towards the Trump administration this 12 months. Native governments are more and more turning into events to some of these lawsuits because the Supreme Court docket lately restricted federal judges’ energy to grant nationwide injunctions.
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