MISSOULA — The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released a memo, following several executive orders signed by President Trump, to freeze all federal funding.
The memo was rescinded shortly afterward as chaos erupted across the country and has now been put on hold by several federal judges. The OMB stated that any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause, such as Medicaid or federal student loans.
Although the memo was rescinded, and is currently on hold, on Jan. 29, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on X that “The President’s Executive Orders on federal funding remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented.”
Specific categories were targeted in the memo; “Marxist equity, transgenderism and the Green New Deal.”
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Officials at Missoula's Mountain Line are concerned about their funding as they fear they fall under the category of “the Green New Deal”.
“There's a lot in flux, there's a lot that's changing, there's a lot of questions, and frankly, we need to get answers to those questions,” said Mountain Line CEO and general manager, Jordan Hess. “Federal funding is critical to the operation of Mountain Line. It's critical to the operation of transit systems around the country, and if you take that a step further, there are lives that are impacted by Mountain Line."
“There are veterans who use Mountain Line to get to appointments. There are students who use Mountain Line to get to school and parents who use Mountain Line to pick up their students from school. There are seniors who are not comfortable driving in the winter who use Mountain Line to access social opportunities," Hess continued. "There are people who use Mountain Line to access economic opportunities and to get to work, and so at the end of the day, the impact is on real people who rely on our service, and whether or not someone relies on our service, someone you rely on relies on our service."
Mountain Line has been in contact with the federal agencies that directly provide funding with Hess telling MTN that the federal agencies are also looking for answers.
“We're in contact with our peers, we're in contact with national associations, we're reading all the directives and orders that come down, we're staying informed, and that's what it looks like at this point,” Hess told MTN.
Mountain Line is expecting new electric buses in the near future, but the reimbursement that was promised for them remains in limbo at the current moment, although they are going ahead with the order.
“Those production slots are scheduled months and in some cases a year or more in advance. And so we're committed to this purchase. It's important for the operation of the agency. It's something that is in the best interest of the agency. And so we're moving forward as planned and as we're contractually obligated,” said Hess.
Watch related coverage: How "green" are Mountain Line's electric buses?
While there may be uncertainty at the moment, Mountain Line states that they are committed to providing their vital service to the community.
“We've been providing transit service for just shy of 50 years and we've weathered a variety of things in the past and we'll weather a variety of things in the future and we're going to continue to provide transit service. And we're going to continue to be a stable service for our community,” stated Hess.
When the memo was issued, it created chaos throughout the country.
The OMB stated that it would not directly freeze funding that provides direct benefits to Americans but for organizations such as Mountain Line — which may fall into the category of “the Green New Deal” — future funding remains uncertain, despite it being already allocated by Congress.
