UPDATE: January 29, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.: The White House budget office has rescinded an order freezing nearly all federal grants and loans.
UPDATE: January 28, 2025, 5 p.m.: A federal district judge has temporarily blocked the funding freeze on federal grants and loans until February 3, 2025.
(HARTFORD, CT) – On Monday, January 27, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued an order to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.” This order will become effective at 5:00 p.m. today, January 28, 2025. It is unclear at this time which programs and services will be impacted.
The Lamont administration is deeply concerned about the federal government’s plan to freeze spending on grants and loans. In coordination with the administration, Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) is closely monitoring this development, analyzing the impact, and remaining in close contact with federal partners and our congressional delegation as we develop ways to protect these critical programs.
In the meantime, CT DoAg will continue operations as usual. Once additional information is received, we will evaluate the impact on a program-by-program basis. We plan to share more details as they are known and assure Connecticut’s agricultural community that we are doing everything we can to ensure access to programs and services vital to food security, market development, and animal health.
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) mission is to foster a healthy economic, environmental, and social climate for agriculture by developing, promoting, and regulating agricultural businesses; protecting agricultural and aquacultural resources; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an understanding among the state's citizens of the diversity of Connecticut agriculture, its cultural heritage, and its contribution to the state's economy. For more information, visit www.CTGrown.gov.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Rebecca Eddy, Rebecca.Eddy@ct.gov
860-573-0323
