GAO Finds Trump Administration Again Violated the Impoundment Control Act by Withholding Funding

GAO Finds Trump Administration Again Violated the Impoundment Control Act by Withholding Funding

Merkley Has Called on GAO to Investigate the Trump Administration's Violations of the Impoundment Control Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) published additional findings that the Trump Administration again violated the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) by withholding funds appropriated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement.

"Donald Trump is not a king, and the laws of our land are not suggestions. The administration's decision to withhold this funding is not only irresponsible but illegal. These funds were appropriated by Congress and signed into law, and no matter what Donald Trump and Russ Vought think, they cannot unilaterally cancel these grants.

"Congressional Republicans need to stop placating the administration and start holding Trump and his administration accountable for not following the law," said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley.

Merkley has led the charge in calling on GAO to investigate the Trump Administration illegally impounding funds.

Below are key excerpts from the GAO's determination:

"At issue here is whether FEMA violated the ICA while implementing various executive branch orders and directives related to federal funding. Currently available evidence indicates that FEMA violated the ICA by improperly withholding, delaying or effectively precluding the obligation or expenditure of budget authority for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), Shelter and Services Program (SSP), and Next Generation Warning System Grants Program (NGWS)."

"Once enacted, an appropriation is a law like any other, and the President must implement it by ensuring that appropriated funds are obligated and expended prudently during their period of availability unless and until Congress enacts another law providing otherwise. In fact, Congress was concerned about the failure to prudently obligate according to its congressional prerogatives when it enacted and later amended the ICA."

"With respect to the interruptions to prior year appropriations for FEMA's EFSP, SSP, and NGWS grants, the facts do not support the finding of a programmatic delay. While it can be argued that FEMA imposed grant reviews to ensure that funds were spent in alignment with the priorities of the new administration, FEMA did not simply delay planned obligations of the funds. Here, FEMA deobligated planned awards entirely and withdrew previously disbursed funding, and its actions do not indicate that it is taking reasonable and necessary steps to implement these programs moving forward. Rather, as discussed below, agency actions and Administration policy statements indicate that the agency is taking steps to prevent the implementation of these programs and activities."

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