Latest news with #fundingcuts
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Federal food aid cuts will cause America's hunger crisis to skyrocket
The Daily Table, one of the largest food banks in Boston, recently announced it was closing its doors after serving more than 3 million people throughout the city over the past decade. The organization cited high food prices and an 'uncertain funding environment' as the main reasons. 'Without immediate funding to bridge us through 2025, we cannot continue,' read the group's farewell note to supporters. Pantries like the Daily Table across the country are struggling to stay open after the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly cut $1 billion in 2025 funding back in March for food relief programs that have historically supported the nation's most disadvantaged communities. Specifically, the USDA abruptly slashed the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supported food banks in addressing the growing hunger crisis in America. The agency also canceled the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, USDA-led initiatives that paid farmers and ranchers to produce the food that pantries and schools distributed to those in need. '[Funding] is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification,' a USDA spokesperson bluntly told Politico when the cuts were discovered. Food banks depend on federal funding to help those in need. The USDA cuts have hit these organizations hard, stifling their ability to fulfill their missions in West Virginia, New York, California, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and beyond. Three District of Columbia-area food banks have delivered 1.4 million fewer meals since the USDA action, and these numbers are certain to grow. The need for food banks has never been greater. According to the USDA's own data, over 47 million people resided in food-insecure households in 2023. Demand in Nebraska is four times greater than it was in 2018, while some food pantries in Texas are serving 25 percent more people today than before the pandemic. And in what may be the most troubling statistic of all, nearly half of the residents in Kentucky and Indiana face an impossible choice of either paying for food or covering their utility bills. The USDA actions were a potential blow to farmers — a constituency the Trump administration has vowed to protect. They also defy the Trump administration's 'Farmers First' agenda. 'The defense of the family farm is a defense of everything America has been — and everything we will be,' wrote USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins in announcing the imperative. 'It is my privilege to come to their defense.' Canceling these programs is a slap in the face to every farmer who relies on federal support to help vulnerable Americans receive the food they need to survive. These economic initiatives drive local agriculture and are a vital source of revenue, especially for small farm operators. The USDA cuts deepen the impact for those who already lack access to healthy meals. Before the USDA rollbacks began, nearly 10 million children were at risk of going hungry this summer due to states opting out of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program. Eliminating federal support for food banks will make their untenable situation even worse. And if House Republicans move forward with a plan to decimate the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program in their proposed budget bill, the hunger crisis in America could become a full-blown emergency. SNAP currently helps 40 million low-income families afford groceries every month. The House bill, if approved, would gut the program by more than $260 billion over the next 10 years to help offset the Trump administration's tax cut proposals. The House GOP plan puts an added burden on states to make up the difference in SNAP support, many of which are financially strapped and won't be able to cover the funding gap. The USDA cuts come at a time when food prices are expected to rise 3.5 percent in 2025 alone due to recent tariff increases. They will have a 'significant and damaging impact' for millions who rely on these programs for food support, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and other U.S. senators have argued. Administration officials and members of Congress alike should heed the warnings from those on the front lines who run food banks and have seen firsthand the impacts the USDA cuts have had on their ability to address food insecurity in their communities. 'We've never before faced a situation like we are in now,' said Michael McKee, CEO of Virginia-based Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. '[The] need is well beyond any disaster or financial crisis that we've seen, and the government's response is to take food away.' 'This isn't about ideology,' he added. 'It's about math.' Let's have compassion for those with nothing to eat by restoring food programs that offer them nourishment and hope for a better future. Lyndon Haviland is a distinguished scholar at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NHK
5 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Reports: Trump aims to end Harvard's federal contracts
US President Donald Trump has escalated his attack on Harvard University. He is threatening to slash more funding and calling on the school to scale back the number of international students studying there. Reuters and other media reported Tuesday that his administration is planning to terminate the federal government's remaining contracts with the Ivy league school -- worth around 100 million dollars. The reports said the administration sent a letter to federal agencies, instructing them to review and potentially end their contracts with Harvard. The New York Times said the letter tells the agencies to report back with a list of cancellations by June 6. The contracts include executive training for the Department of Homeland Security. The administration has already frozen billions of dollars in funding for the elite school. It has also announced its plan to revoke the university's tax-exempt status. Trump continued to criticize the foreign students at Harvard on Wednesday. He said their number should be capped at around 15 percent. "You know, these countries aren't helping us," he said. "They're not investing in Harvard." He added: "We have people who want to go to Harvard, and other schools, they can't get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country." Harvard currently has about 6,800 international students, making up roughly 30 percent of its student body.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
More than 200 jobs cut at International Labour Organization as US slashes funding
GENEVA, May 28 (Reuters) - The Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO) has axed about 225 jobs due to cutbacks in U.S. funding at the United Nations agency, its head said on Wednesday. The job losses, which affect posts at the ILO's Geneva headquarters and in the field, follow the U.S. administration's decision to reduce voluntary contributions under President Donald Trump, ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said. "One job loss is too many ... You would not imagine the mood that has generated within my staff," he told reporters in Geneva. The ILO head also raised the possibility of relocating some of the agency's operations out of Geneva, one of the world's most expensive cities, to ease financial pressures, which is also part of broader talks on reform. Potential locations could be European cities such as Turin, Budapest, or Bonn, or further afield in places including Doha and Pretoria, Houngbo said. Short-term contractors and employees at some other U.N. agencies like the International Organization for Migration have already been informed of redundancies. But thousands more job losses could be on the way as international agencies grapple with funding shortages due to the withdrawal of aid by the Trump administration and other donors. "The U.S. is the top contributor for assessed and voluntary contribution, so our challenge is double," Houngbo said, highlighting also a broader pullback in financial support among member states. The U.S. accounts for 22% of the ILO's $880 million two-year budget for 2026-2027, expected to be approved at the ILO's International Labour Conference next week. "Worst case scenario, we may have to consider a revised budget. I don't recall the last time that happened to the ILO," Houngbo said. He said he is developing a business continuity plan in case of further cuts to financial support, and that the ILO will be implementing a freeze on external recruitment, as well as launching a voluntary redundancy programme.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Trump plans to cut last $100 million worth of contracts with Harvard and remove all government funding
The Trump administration is directing agencies to consider ending or transitioning about $100 million worth of contracts with Harvard University, effectively severing the remainder of the federal government's financial relationship with the university after months of threatening funding cuts worth billions. In a letter on Tuesday, the administration's General Services Administration recommended that agencies review existing contracts and avoid making new deals with Harvard. The message, obtained by The Independent, accuses the university of a 'deeply troubling pattern' of potential discriminatory hiring, tolerating antisemitism, and continuing to use race-based affirmative action in admissions, despite the Supreme Court striking the practice down in a 2023 ruling. As evidence, the letter points to the addition of a remedial math class for incoming freshmen, claiming the course is among the 'direct results of employment discriminatory factors, instead of merit, in admissions decisions.' (After the 2023 ruling, Black enrollment at Harvard declined from 18 to 14 percent.) The contract review applies to about 30 deals, and critical contracts might not immediately be terminated but rather transitioned elsewhere at an appropriate time, a government official familiar with the letter told The Independent. The Independent has contacted Harvard for comment. The funding review comes after months of tension between the university and the administration, with the White House accusing the Ivy League school of violating civil rights law over its handling of campus antisemitism and pro-Palestine protests, and Harvard arguing the administration is trying to undermine its academic independence. On Monday, President Trump complained that the university had not provided the government information on foreign students the president said were 'radicalized lunatics' and 'troublemakers' who 'should not be let back into our Country.' In a separate post, Trump said he was 'considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard' and giving it to trade schools. Last week, the administration attempted to block Harvard's ability to enroll international students, prompting the university to sue. A judge temporarily reinstated the school's ability to enroll such students, and a hearing is scheduled in the case on Thursday. The administration has also threatened to end Harvard's tax-exempt status and has frozen billions in federal funds to the university. Last month, the university sued to restore its funding, rather than agree to a series of sweeping demands from the administration to make changes like cooperating with federal immigration officials, overhauling its admissions policies, and agreeing to a viewpoint diversity audit.
Zawya
26-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank to pick new head to confront U.S. funding cuts
NAIROBI - The African Development Bank will meet in Ivory Coast this week to pick a new president at a time when the continent's biggest multilateral lender faces unprecedented challenges from funding cuts by the United States government, analysts said. The U.S. federal government wants to cut $555 million in funding to the AfDB and its African Development Fund (ADF), which offers low-priced financing to the continent's poor nations. "This is going to be a major task and it is effectively the new president's first test," said Hannah Ryder, founder of Development Reimagined, an Africa-focused consultancy. The annual gathering of heads of state and finance officials, taking place this year in the Ivorian city of Abidjan, is one of the biggest finance meetings on the continent. Africa's largest development finance institution is owned by 54 African states and G7 nations like the U.S. and Japan. Its biggest shareholder is Nigeria. The next round of replenishment for the ADF window, which is held on a three-year cycle, is scheduled to take place in November this year. The new president will have to try to persuade the U.S. to reinstate the funding, seek additional funds from non-regional members of the bank like China, or Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, in return for more say, or ask African states to contribute more, Ryder said. Five candidates from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, Chad and Mauritania, are vying to replace outgoing President Akinwumi Adesina, who will step down in September after serving the maximum two five-year terms. The winner, who must secure 50.01% of the votes from the 54 African member states of the bank, and in a second vote from all 81 members, including non-African ones, will be announced on Thursday. The bank is grappling with the challenges of a changing global economy after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House, including higher U.S. import tariffs. "We expect the meeting to discuss implications of current global events arising from the Trump administration," said Fred Muhumuza, a lecturer at Makerere University's business school in Kampala. "Many of the key contributors have been cutting bilateral support to African countries."
