President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, January 20, 2025, which seemingly halted all funding disbursements for the Inflation Reduction Act.
The executive order included a subsection titled “Terminating the Green New Deal,” which states that “all agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
This included funding for things such as electric vehicle charging stations.
The funding freeze was met with confusion surrounding which funding disbursements were frozen.
In an attempt to clear up any confusion, the White House posted a memorandum (memo) on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the memo, titled “Memorandum to the Heads of Departments and Agencies.”
The memo stated that the pause only applies to funds supporting programs, projects or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in Section 2 of the order.
A statement from the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) stated that items include electric vehicles, lightbulbs, stoves and offshore oil and natural gas.
The memo also stated that “agency heads may disburse funds as they deem necessary after consulting with the OMB.”
The pause in funding gives federal agencies 90 days to submit reviews and spending recommendations to the OMB and National Economic Council.
The article referenced in this story originally ran as White House clarifies funding freeze on Waterworld, an Endeavor Business Media partner site.
