SAN ANTONIO – Marta Pelaez, the president and CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services, said the last 24 hours have been agonizing.
According to Pelaez, a federal funding freeze “would have drastically impacted our capability to provide.”
“It would have meant a reduction in the scope and array of initiatives that we have,” Pelaez said.
On Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget rescinded a memo it issued Monday night.
The memo originally ordered federal agencies to “temporarily pause” certain funding. However, Scott McAninch, the CEO of the Nonprofit Council, said nonprofits that need federal funding are not yet in the clear.
“The damage has been done,” McAninch said. “Psychologically, to nonprofits, it was hard.”
The Nonprofit Council supports more than 200 organizations in San Antonio. He said a lot was up in the air while this memo was in place. Even though it has been rescinded, he said his team will stay vigilant.
“It’s a fluid situation,” McAninch said. “There’s a lot happening and a lot coming out of Washington in the last week, and it will continue. We will continue to monitor.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said rescinding this memo does not mean the administration will stop its plans to freeze some funding.
“The President’s (executive orders) on federal funding remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented,” she said in a social media post.
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