Congresswoman Rivas Hosts Listening Session with Community Health Organizations on President Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze – the Republican Rip Off
LOS ANGELES — Today, Representative Luz Rivas (CA-29) met with community leaders in the healthcare industry to discuss how President Trump’s halt on federal funding for grants, loans, and assistance would impact their organizations and the people they serve.
“The stories, perspectives, and fears community healthcare leaders shared with me today is proof that President Trump’s Executive Order is nothing more than a power grab that will freeze funding for critical services and drive up healthcare costs for families across America,” said Congresswoman Luz Rivas. “These groups provide critical care, resources, and support for marginalized communities to access care and close the healthcare gap. Many of the people these groups serve rely heavily on federally funded services and grant programs – including Community health centers, CDC grants, WIC, and Head Start and Early Start grants – are at risk of being halted by President Trump. Long story short, President Trump’s federal funding freeze will be a disaster for Americans’ healthcare.”
“I would like to commend Congressmember Luz Rivas for meeting with Community Leaders in her district to hear concerns and recommendations regarding the Executive Orders to Freeze Federal Funding,” said Corinne Sánchez, Esq., President/CEO, El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc. “The concerns voiced were closure of Federally Funded Health Centers that address chronic diseases, primary health care, mental health, HIV, and sexuality transmitted diseases that impact our communities. Patients would be forced to go to emergency rooms at hospitals that would be cost prohibitive and cause massive backlog and result in lack of care for patients most in need. The major recommendations from the group was for Congressmember Rivas to fight to retain Medicaid and the National Health Service Corps funding. We look forward to working with Congressmember Rivas and know that we ‘Can Do This Together.’”
Background
Listening Session
On January 31, Congresswoman Luz Rivas hosted community healthcare leaders to hear their concerns and opinions on President Trump’s recent proposal to freeze federal funding. Community leaders discussed the potential impacts of the freeze on critical services, programs, and operations.
Participants included:
- Corinne Sánchez, Esq., President/CEO, El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.
- Robert Winn, Chairperson, El Proyecto del Barrio Board of Directors
- Maria Townsend, Board Member, El Proyecto del Barrio Board of Directors
- Dr. Karmen Tatulian, Medical Director, El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.
- Ruth Lopez Novodor, Managed Care Dir., El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.
- Cesar Landeros, CFO, Center for Family Health & Education
- Al Ballesteros, President/CEO, JWCH
- Francisco Portillo, External Affairs Manager, JWCH
- Nik Gupta, CEO, Mission City Community Network
- Anita Zamora, CEO, Valley Community Health Clinic
- David Lontok, CEO, Comprehensive Community Health Centers
- Yvonne Mariajimenez, President/CEO, Neighborhood Legal Services
- Audrey Simons, CEO, San Fernando Community Health Center
- Louise McCarthy, CEO, CCALAC
- Alyssa Mohamadzadeh, CCALAC
- Marlene Rowlett, Outreach Director, El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.
President Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze - The Republican Rip Off
On Monday, January 27 the Trump Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Memorandum following an Executive Order to halt federal funding that will hurt hardworking Americans.
The Trump Memorandum directed harmful actions, including mandating federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, non-governmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.
Additional information, including a list of impacted programs, can be found here.
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