Colorado is expected to lose millions in federal public health and transportation funding under a new wave of cuts targeting a group of states led by Democratic governors.
An Office of Management and Budget official confirmed to The Associated Press that the office is telling the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cancel grants totaling more than $1.5 billion. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the cuts on the record.
The canceled grants were awarded to agencies and organizations in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. As justification, the federal government cited concerns over fraud and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, but has not presented evidence beyond remarks from President Donald Trump and others in his administration.
News of the cuts was first reported last week by the New York Post.
Full details of the cuts and the list of programs impacted have not been released, including whether the states could take any steps to avoid losing the funding.
The official did provide a partial list of programs facing cuts to The Associated Press; some appeared to be targeted because they are not in line with the administration’s policies opposing protections for transgender people and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Among the transportation funds targeted are money for electric vehicle chargers in all four states, funds to research translating the test for Illinois commercial driver’s licenses into Spanish, and money for California to adapt to climate change.
The New York Times reported that cuts to health programs include $7.2 million for the American Medical Association, which is based in Illinois and supports gender-affirming care for people who are transgender, and $5.2 million for the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago for a program working to prevent HIV among Black women.
“We will be scrambling.”
The grant cancellations appear to have caught the states and organizations by surprise.
Darrell Vigil, the CEO of the Colorado Health Network, found out from a journalist that his organization was losing the grant funding, then went online to read the news. On Tuesday morning, Vigil and others at the HIV nonprofit were able to talk to their contact at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said “her boss told her the news is true,” Vigil said.
He still had no details about when or how the federal government would strip the funding.
“We will be scrambling to come up with other sources of funding to be able to continue this very important work,” Vigil told The Sun.
The network, with six locations from Greeley to Pueblo, helps people living with HIV and people who are at risk of getting the virus that, without treatment, can lead to AIDS.
The grant being pulled back, for $371,000, specifically funded work to help people access HIV prevention medication, called PrEP. Outreach workers at the network visit PrideFest, parks and other spots to offer on-the-spot HIV tests that get results within minutes, Vigil said.
The bulk of the organization’s work, however, is serving people living with HIV. The network’s case managers link people, many below the federal poverty line, to HIV treatment.
It’s a particularly challenging time to lose financial support because HIV diagnoses among certain groups have increased in recent years, Vigil said. Younger people, ages 14 to 24, are more likely to contract HIV, likely because they were not alive during the AIDS epidemic and they see the virus as something that can be treated as a chronic condition, Vigil said.
“They might not take it as seriously as older people have,” he said.
Also, Latino and Black Coloradans are diagnosed at higher rates than those of other races or ethnicities. While Colorado is about 20% Latino, that group makes up 37% of new HIV diagnoses, he said. Black people make up 4% of the population in Colorado but 12% of new HIV diagnoses, he said. The disparity is linked to stigma and less access to health care, making outreach work more important, he said.
Vivent Health, another Colorado nonprofit that helps thousands of people living with HIV, said Tuesday that it was concerned about losing the public health grants it receives through the CDC. The cuts will result in “more HIV transmissions and people living with HIV struggling to access lifesaving care,” said Matt Pagnotti, Vivent’s government relations director.
“This follows a broader pattern of federal agencies delaying or attempting to withhold HIV-related grants that Congress has already authorized,” Pagnotti said. “These actions are not only unlawful, they are putting people’s health at risk. It is impossible to consistently provide essential HIV prevention and treatment services amid this level of uncertainty and disruption.”
No word from the feds
Colorado officials reached Tuesday said they did not have any information about the grant cancellations.
“The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has not received official notification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding any grant reductions or terminations referenced in recent public reports,” Jessica Forsyth, the director of CDPHE’s office that oversees work on sexually transmitted infections, HIV and viral hepatitis, said in a statement. “Accordingly, we are unable to confirm potential impacts to specific grants, programs, or partners.”
Forsyth said Colorado’s HIV prevention and treatment programs rely on the work of local public health programs, community organizations and clinics. She said Colorado “consistently exceeds federal expectations in delivering HIV prevention and care through systems designed to protect continuity of services” and that the state has received national recognition for its approach.
A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Transportation wrote in an email to The Sun that the agency has not received official notification of the grant cancellations.
Colorado Sun reporters Jennifer Brown and John Ingold contributed to this report.