Grijalva sets up portal to report impact of federal fund freezes

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s office announced Thursday that he is collecting reports about how the loss of federal funding is affecting Southern Arizona organizations and companies.

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has frozen – and in some cases then unfrozen – many federal funding programs for local governments, nonprofit agencies and other recipients.

Grijalva’s office has set up an online portal where federal contractors and grant recipients in Congressional District 7 can report how a loss of funding has affected them.

“The Trump administration’s reckless and illegal pause on federal funding has already wreaked havoc across the nation, grinding key infrastructure projects to a halt, jeopardizing vital programs and putting dozens of Americans out of work,” Grijalva said in a press release regarding the new portal. “Multiple federal judges have ordered the funds to be released. However, many entities are still unable to access their congressionally-appropriated federal funds to perform the duties and services for which the funding was designated by law.”

Grijalva said his office would follow up with agencies to “ensure federal funds are being distributed appropriately, as required by law.”

Grijalva, who is serving his final term after announcing in April 2024 that he was undergoing treatment for lung cancer, missed a key budget vote this week. Other than during the race for House speaker in January, Grijalva has not been in Washington to cast a vote since February 2024.

Congressional Resolution 14, which targets the Medicaid program for hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts over the next 10 years, passed on a narrow 217-215 vote on Tuesday. All Democrats and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky voted against it, while Southern Arizona Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani voted in favor of the measure. Grijalva was the only House member to miss the vote.

In a statement Wednesday, Grijalva’s office said his ongoing treatment prevented him from traveling to Washington for Tuesday’s vote but he was opposed to the budget framework that passed the House.