EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County Board Chairman Chris Slusser discusses the freeze on federal funding.
Slusser said that he was never concerned about the pause because the federal money Madison County receives does not conflict with the president’s executive orders, or the memo issued through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB.)
“The executive orders and the memo from OMB made it very clear to me that none of the federal funds received by Madison County would be included in the freeze,” Slusser said.
Slusser said he understands why the federal government wanted to review agency programs.
“We understand that people were worried about how this would have affected them,” he said.
“What we did know is that that federal assistance to individuals would not have been affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships, rental assistance or energy assistance for low-income families.”
He said the only confusion was created by Democrats in Congress, along with national media outlets who sought to divide Americans and create panic amongst our most vulnerable. Madison County Government does not spend any funds on DEI, Green New Deal initiatives nor funding for illegal aliens, all of which were the target of the temporary federal freeze and review process.
For the federal programs Madison County administers, for its low-income residents, such as: LIHEAP, rental assistance, homeless programs, weatherization, etc., it will be business as usual, he said. “We have established a long track record of fiscal responsibility and good stewardship of our tax dollars in Madison County Government,” Slusser said. “I’m thankful that the federal government now seems committed to those principles as well.”
