A program to reduce fatalities for all users of streets and roads is the first local casualty of President Donald Trump’s vow to drastically slash federal spending, as open houses scheduled next week to get public input about the grant-funded program have been put on hold indefinitely, the City and Borough of Juneau announced Thursday.
CBJ received a Safe Streets 4 All (SS4A) planning grant from the U.S. Federal Highways Administration, with funding coming from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. However, the CBJ announcement stated the open houses scheduled Feb. 4-6 were canceled because “funding for all federal grant programs is currently under review by the new administration.”
“We hope to resume the open houses when it is prudent to do so,” the announcement states.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, in an email Thursday, stated no other programs are currently being reviewed by CBJ administrators for possible holds. Local officials have noted a wide range of local programs get federal funds, and thus there could be significant potential impacts if Trump follows through on various pledges to halt existing funding and reclaim unspent funds awarded in forms such as COVID-19 grants.
CBJ’s invitation to the SS4A open houses was published Jan. 24, four days after Trump took office – and three days before his administration announced an immediate freeze of federal grants and funds, which a judge put on hold Tuesday and the administration then rescinded on Wednesday. However, administration officials said the plan to review all such funding would proceed.
The two-page memo ordering the freeze by the White House budget office directs agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
CBJ’s invite doesn’t appear to obviously fall into any of the mentioned categories.
“The purpose of the SS4A grant is to improve roadway safety by reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through developing a safety action plan focused on all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, personal conveyance and micro mobility users, and commercial vehicle operators,” the invite states.
Katie Kachel, a lobbyist hired by the City and Borough of Juneau for federal issues, told local leaders earlier this month the Trump administration isn’t likely to drastically affect federal funding for glacial outburst flood-prevention measures or many other areas, but “green” projects such as infrastructure and other support for electric vehicles could be targeted.
Assessments of the potential impacts of a potential freeze, as well as a widespread range of executive orders and other actions by Trump since beginning his second term, are ongoing by local tribal officials and nonprofits.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
