Northwest Fair Housing Alliance At Risk of Losing Federal Funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Date: January 30, 2025

Northwest Fair Housing Alliance At Risk of Losing Federal Funding to provide Essential Housing Support Services

SPOKANE, WA – Northwest Fair Housing Alliance (NWFHA) and thousands of non-profit organizations around the country that provide essential housing and support services to the most vulnerable people in our communities are being threatened with a freeze on already awarded federal grant funds and future awards.

On Monday the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo directing most federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance. On Tuesday the funding freeze was stayed by a federal court judge, and on Wednesday OMB rescinded the memo. However, also on Wednesday, the White House press secretary wrote on social media that “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.” She said the president’s executive orders on federal funding “remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”

NWFHA services are free to the public because of HUD grant funding.

NWFHA assists thousands of people each year to find solutions to housing issues re: discrimination, instability, inaccessibility, unaffordability and unsafe or unhealthy conditions.

The majority of people we serve are elderly, have disabilities, are on fixed income, and/or living in poverty. Annually we respond to and assist:

• over 1000 intake callers and visitors needing help with housing situations,
• advocacy for more than 200 households with fair housing barriers, and
• 150 reasonable accommodation and modification requests for people with disabilities.

NWFHA has unpaid expenditures of $128,729 for activities already conducted under HUD grants, pre-paid out of our own operating expenses pursuant to signed agreements for HUD reimbursement. This is about three months of salaries, taxes, and benefits (e.g., health insurance) for 5 full-time and 1 part-time employees. Unlawful efforts to stop payment on grant funds already earned threaten NWFHA’s ability to serve our community or even exist.

For over two decades NWFHA has been awarded competitive performance-based HUD grants to fund our work in Eastern and Central WA State regardless of which political party was in the White House. Currently, NWFHA has HUD grant applications pending which are essential to continuation of our activities after our current grants end on June 14, 2025.

Freezing already appropriated and awarded Federal grant funds is against the law, cruel, reckless and dangerous for families and vulnerable people. Without continued federal support NWFHA will be unable to assist the hundreds of people who seek our help accessing and retaining housing.

For more information, contact:

Marley Hochendoner, Executive Director, (509) 209-2667 or execdir@nwfairhouse.org

More on What Is Happening

Late Monday night, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), released a memo directing federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance that may be implicated by the President’s executive orders, including, but not limited to, “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.” Agencies were directed to pause issuance of new awards; disbursement of funds under open awards; and all activities associated with open Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs).

The pause was to be effective Tuesday at 2:00pm PT, January 28. However, even before the deadline the online portal that HUD grantees use to submit vouchers for payment was disabled, and NWFHA and hundreds of other organizations were unable to request grant payments that are due.

The 1/27/15 OMB memo also directed Federal agencies to submit by 2/10/25 information on programs, projects or activities subject to the pause. Survey questions to federal agencies included:

• Does this program provide Federal funding to non governmental organizations supporting or providing services, either directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens?
• Does this program provide funding that is implicated by the directive to end discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities, under whatever name they appear, or other directives in the same EO, including those related to “environmental justice” programs or “equity-related” grants?
• Does this program promote gender ideology?

Just before 2:00 pm Tuesday, a federal Judge issued a temporary stay, barring the OMB order from going into effect until after a February 3 hearing after a coalition of advocacy groups asked for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO).

On Wednesday OMB rescinded its 1/27/25 memo. But also on Wednesday, the White House press secretary wrote on social media that “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.” She said the president’s executive orders on federal funding “remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.” Review of federal agency grant programs is expected to continue despite retraction of the OMB memo.

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