PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Shortly after the White House formally rescinded a memo that ordered a freeze on federal grants and loans, White House Press Secretary Karonline Leavitt took to X saying
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court's injunction.”
Federal funding freeze confusion
But, for some the confusion is still there.
WPTV’s Vannia Joseph, spoke with Ted Hoskinson, president of the nonprofit Roots and Wings, which provides literacy programs to Title I schools, one of the many organizations unsure of the future of their funding
“There are, I think, 74 Title I schools in Palm Beach County, and we're of only 15 of them,” said Hoskinson. “So, we're here on the iceberg. We're not here. We're not even close to being there. And imagine how many Title I schools there are around Florida, let alone the South, let alone the country. I mean, this is a problem everywhere. So, we need government to come in.”
Digging for more answers, WPTV’s Michael Hoffman spoke with Congressional Appropriations Committee member, Lois Frankel. To discuss who should be concerned, and most importantly, what comes next.
“So, who should be afraid,” asked Hoffman.
“Well, you know, I won't use the word afraid,” said Congresswoman Frankel. “But I think we should all be concerned. There's so much at stake. We have a lot of very anxious providers. They don't know where their next paycheck is going to come and how they're going to serve their clients.
“So, the advice is to stand by, let's wait and see what actually happens here, and then we will, we will plan accordingly,” asked Hoffman
“Yes,” answered Frankel.
Frankle’s team tells WPTV that they are planning a meeting on Thursday with a number of federal funding recipients, to hear their concerns. The White House has said that this is not the end of the push to cut funding, and that President Trump will take more actions to that effect soon.
