LIEB, Associated Press A White House directive to pause federal grants and loans raised uncertainty and fears among many who depend on federal aid before a judge intervened Tuesday to temporarily block it from taking effect.
A federal judge blocked the directive just minutes before it was to kick in Tuesday. The order placed it on hold until next Monday while legal wrangling continues. The grant pause is perhaps most similar to a federal government shutdown, when a congressional impasse on spending legislation delays federal payments for some state and local services.
Universities around the country are scrambling to determine how a funding freeze could affect their research programs, students and faculty. University of North Carolina administrators sent a campus email urging patience until decisions can be confirmed directly from federal agencies. A University of Florida memo obtained by the Associated Press indicates that the university is advising faculty to continue grant-related activities unless they have been specially told that the research has been suspended.
But at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. If the funding freeze goes forward, scientists may miss deadlines to present and share their work, said researcher Lorna Quandt, who has a grant application pending to fund interpreters to accompany deaf students to an upcoming conference. For many highway projects that are partially funded by federal grants, states pay the contractors directly then seek reimbursement from the federal government.
Some operators of federally funded Head Start centers, which work with , kids and low-income families nationwide, initially were concerned that the freeze could mean closing their doors as soon Wednesday.
