U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and a panel of six experts held an hour long Zoom call the Thursday afternoon to discuss federal funding cuts and its impact to Coloradans across all sectors.
“As we gather here today, Colorado faces unprecedented challenges stemming from the recent federal funding freeze and policy shifts,” said Paul Lhevine, the moderator of the call. “These sudden and far-reaching actions have sent shock waves through our state.”
The cuts impact everything from schools and health care to energy to agriculture, said Lhevine.
“I want to emphasize that while the situation feels daunting, Colorado has always been a state of resilience and innovation. By coming together and sharing our collective wisdom, we can find ways to support our communities and continue moving our state forward,” he said.
Before the panelists answered questions, Hickenlooper emphasized that “these cuts cause real pain.”
“In true Trump fashion, the roll out was jumbled and a little bit chaotic,” he said. “Pretty smart people feel that what they’re trying to do is illegal. Some would say it’s blatantly illegal.”
There’s more than 100 cases where the administration is breaking the law, and “we will make sure it is investigated and litigated,” said Hickenlooper.
In Colorado, many organizations have been locked out of their funds. Some have closed offices and laid people off.
“If you really want to look seriously at how government spends money and how we can cut fraud waste and abuse, I’m all for it,” Hickenlooper said. “But you don’t want to throw working families or critical services … under the bus.”
Question: “Federal funding reductions for Medicaid, medical research and other federal grants would impact everyday Coloradans. What long-term effects do you anticipate from these long-term federal funding cuts?” Lhevine read.
Answer: Every year, Denver Health sees over 280,000 patients from across the state. Its annual budget of $1.5 million “allows us to provide 1.4 million visit annually to these patients,” said Hanratty.
Any cuts to Medicaid “would result in a reduction of services and programs and would threaten the availability of health care … Medicaid represents over half of the total revenue for Denver Health,” she said.
Denver Health also receives federal dollars – $65 million – that supports its research and programs.
Cuts to federal grant funding would not only force them to cut programs; it would hinder their ability to generate the scientific knowledge necessary for new treatments, she said.
Hickenlooper added that roughly 1 million Coloradans are on Medicaid, and 60% of the people in nursing homes are on it too.
So “massive cuts” puts “grandmothers and grandfathers out in the cold” or forces them to go bankrupt, he said.
Question: “Can you talk about how potential cuts to (biomedical research at) the National Institutes of Health and other research programs would impact CSU and the rest of the state?,” Lhevine read.
Answer: Moseley first acknowledged the proposed overnight cut of over $2 billion from the National Institute of Health’s budget.
“The National Institutes of Health is really globally known for decades and decades of investing in the most important breakthroughs in biomedical research,” said Moseley.
Its work is impactful worldwide, and some of it happens in Colorado, at CSU.
“These research projects are important to the future of Colorado and really the globe.”
Plus, funding from the National Institutes of Health provides over 7,000 jobs in the state and almost $1.6 billion in economic impact, she said.
Cutting that fund would be “catastrophic.”
“Currently at CSU, we are provided over $400 million in federal funding to support research … and our students receive just under $200 million a year in federal financial aid, 13,000 students at CSU,” said Moseley.
That research money employs over 1,000 employees at the university, and offers roughly 1,300 undergraduates paid research opportunities.
Question: “This administration is implementing or proposing policy changes that have already impacted communities. … What have been the consequences for the people you serve, and what is most critical to ensure these communities are not left behind?”
Answer: Beascochea focused on the “fear mongering” that’s been created with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deportations, and how it “needs to be addressed.” It’s impacting students and making them not want to go to school and generally creating a culture of fear.
As far as health care goes, losing Medicaid won’t impact undocumented people “because they do not qualify for these services,” she said.
“But it will affect every single U.S. citizen,” she said. “They might have to close clinics, let go of doctors and medical professionals that provide services.”
Question: “What role do local communities play in wildfire preparedness and resiliency, and how can federal and state agencies better support them?”
Answer: “Communities are ready to work – I think that’s really important to remember,” Bruno started.
“Mitigation is the emergency. By the time suppression is needed, it’s already too late,” he said. But with federal funding cuts, his collaborative has had to stop mitigation work.
So, “as we head into what’s shaping up to be an active fire season here in Colorado … local communities will be forced to fend for themselves,” he said.
Collaboratives, the one Bruno oversees, make “smart, cost-effective investments from the federal funding they receive” and hire locals.
“They invest in their communities,” he said.
“And yet, federal funding delays, freezes, and frankly uncertainty for the potential government shutdown next week have made it harder for these organizations to do their jobs,” he said.
Question: “If the funding freeze continues, can you explain the direct impact you would experience on your farm and describe some of the effects it would have on the entire agricultural sector?”
Answer: “A lot of what we’re seeing has such a long-term effect,” said Pfaltzgraff.
“What a lot of people don’t realize, in the money they pay for food, about 10% of that actually reaches the farmer,” he said. Price increases at the store, though, “get lost to the middleman” – farmers don’t see any more money from it.
He touched on staffing issues at Natural Resource Conservation Service offices, which helps farms secure loans and practice conservation – important practices in light of drought and other extreme weather events.
“There’s a lot of pieces that are coming together that could create a very significant impact in agriculture,” he said. “A lot of this is just going to drive the cost of everything up.”
Question: “How will New ERA grants help rural communities and what will happen if they do not move forward?”
Answer: “Rural electric co-ops represent roughly 70% of the land mass of Colorado and serves rural American and rural Coloradans,” said Gabriel.
They keep rates low and the grid operating.
In Colorado, we have a significant amount of growth in terms of people moving here.
“Not getting this money means we don’t get resources to meet growing demand in our state,” he said. “That really puts us behind the eight ball.”
To Hickenlooper: “How are you pushing against these actions (by the Trump administration)?”
Hickenlooper: “It’s the first time in my lifetime where there’s an effort to completely dismantle, as much as possible, the federal government,” he started.
He said they’re trying to slow things down in Congress and “make sure every illegality,” like budget cuts and firings, are litigated.
There’s only a one-vote Republican majority in the House right now, he said, and two people will be getting replaced.
Making sure people know the facts, like how there’s already been 25,000 people laid off, is important since “what most Americans want is not what this government is doing.”
“Democracies are fragile, but they succeed when people come back together again,” Hickenlooper said. “So we’re going to keep fighting the illegal actions in the courts and we’re not going to let the administration overwhelm us.”
