Summary
- The Trump administration withheld Head Start funds
illegally, violating the Impoundment Control Act. - HHS slowed grant disbursements in early 2025 compared
to 2024 levels. - HHS did not cooperate with GAO’s information requests.
- Proposed 2026 budget seeks to eliminate Head Start
funding. - GAO and Congress criticize the withholding as harming
low-income children’s programs.
The Children and Families Services Programs of
the Department of Health and Human Services were found to have violated the
1974 Impoundment Control Act (ICA) “by withholding funds from
expenditure” intended for early childhood development programs by the Government
Accountability Office.
According to GAO, although Congress approved
monies for Head Start for fiscal year 2025,
“HHS significantly reduced the
rate of disbursement of funds for Head Start grant programs, as compared to
amounts disbursed in the same time period in FY 2024”
between January 20
and April 15 of this year.
The watchdog claimed that although it sought factual information regarding the issue
and the legal opinions of the department from the federal health department,
which has been led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy,
Jr. since mid-February,
“HHS has not transmitted the requested
information.”
“Given the absence of information from HHS,
we have based this letter upon publicly available evidence,”
GAO said in
its decision published Wednesday.
“Because that evidence indicates that
HHS withheld appropriated funds from expenditure, and because the burden to
justify such withholdings rests with HHS and the executive branch, we conclude
that HHS violated the ICA by withholding funds from expenditure.”
Through grant recipients, Head Start provides
nutritional, health, and educational services to low-income children in all 50
states. The purpose of the 1974 statute was to safeguard the separation of
powers by prohibiting the executive branch from withholding funds that Congress
had appropriated.
According to GAO, it often looks for signs that
funds were correctly withheld by examining obligational data and distribution
schedules from an allocation. Despite GAO’s statutory power to obtain such
data, the Trump administration allegedly took it down from its public websites.
The legislative office further alleged that when GAO asked for the information,
it was not given.
A request for comment from HHS was not
immediately answered.
The GAO, which is part of the legislative branch
rather than the executive branch, was established in 1921 to assist Congress in
monitoring the use of public funds and managing the nation’s mounting debt
following World War I.
In order to legally revoke previously approved
funding, Congress just passed a rescissions package worth about $9 billion.
This is the proper way to reverse funding that Congress has authorized.
What are potential future legal consequences for
the Trump administration over this funding issue (future implications)?
Similar to past instances where the Trump
administration withheld funds (e.g., Ukraine aid) or attempted to dismantle
agencies, this action is likely to trigger additional lawsuits from affected
NGOs, advocacy groups, and states . These lawsuits would seek to compel the
administration to release the funds, arguing violations of the Impoundment
Control Act and other federal statutes .
The outcome of such lawsuits could result in
court orders requiring the release of funds and potentially even finding
specific officials in contempt if they continue to defy judicial directives.
While the GAO report is a finding by an
independent watchdog, Congress can use this as a basis for further oversight
hearings, investigations, and potentially new legislation aimed at
strengthening anti-impoundment laws or imposing clearer penalties for their
violation.
