Hassan meets with Harbor Care to discuss possible ‘ripple effect’ of federal grant funding freeze

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Henry Och the President and CEO of Harbor Care spoke with US Senator Maggie Hassan at Buckingham Place in Nashua, about the impact of President Trump’s effort to halt payment of all federal grants and loans. Photo / Dan Splaine Photography

NASHUA, NH – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan met on Monday with the leadership team of Harbor Care to discuss possible implications of the Trump Administration’s effort to cease payment of all federal grants and loans. Harbor Care President and CEO Henry Och and Brian Tagliaferro, Chief Philanthropy Officer, met with Hassan at Buckingham Place in Nashua, a transitional housing complex operated by Harbor Care.

 “The first thing that people need to understand is that when you freeze federal funding, the ripple effect is huge,” Hassan said.

Harbor Care is a New Hampshire non-profit agency providing low-income residents with affordable healthcare and housing as well as substance use services, assistance for veterans, home care, HIV/AIDS services, employment support, and services for families and individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness. 

The payment issue is critical to the organization. According to Och, about 65% of their operating budget comes from federal funds. Approximately 30% of the New Hampshire State budget comes from the federal government.

Although courts have temporarily ordered the administration not to cut off funds, the effort is still being pursued.  White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the executive orders “remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented.”

Describing the legal challenges, Hassan said, “We’ve got one court ruling that has frozen the executive orders as well as the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) freeze, which only applies to 22 states, and we’re not one of them. We’ve got the other order that expires at 5 p.m. this afternoon, which we think is a nationwide order.  That’s the way it’s being interpreted. People will be in court today trying to make sure that that order is extended or that the White House’s actions are permanently stopped.”

The vague and contradictory communication since the executive order was issued last week has also created confusion. Federal payment portals were shut down and then re-connected leaving agencies like Harbor Care scrambling to adapt. 

Och expressed his concern about the funding and the cascade of negative effects on the community, his staff, and their ability to provide services if it is not secured. They provide services to about 450 veterans, 2,500 people are treated at their federally qualified community health centers and over 1,000 are in their housing program. The people they serve already live with uncertainty and this federal action only increases that.

Speaking about housing vouchers and healthcare Ochs said, “A disruption in funding, as we just discussed, would impact them directly and a secondary effect would land as a tertiary effect, in the future, it’s going to provide fewer incentives for landlords to rent to individuals associated with those housing programs. On the healthcare front, that’s, like many of our programs, that’s a real-time, real-time, real-time response program and when individuals are sick, they need to see a doctor. And if that service is not available, it’s going to wind up causing the system a lot more money. If we’re not around, community health centers are not around, then they’re going to go to the hospital. And the costs of getting care at the hospital are significantly higher.”

During the meeting, Hassan acknowledged and discussed the potential harm of this policy and the extensive implications for nonprofit organizations, state and local government operations, and the citizens of the Granite State. 

While being realistic about the limits to being a minority party in Congress she said she is not conceding ground to the executive branch saying.

“The legislative branch under the Constitution is Article I. It’s the first branch of government established by our founders because we’re the voice of the people. We are working as hard as we can, at least on the Democratic side of things, to articulate and push back about the harmful actions that this administration has taken and how some of them are unconstitutional and illegal,” Hassan said. “We obviously need our Republican colleagues to join us, and we’re working really hard to do that.”


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