President Donald Trump released the administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal this week. The proposal, which outlines the administration’s spending priorities, would slash non-defense federal spending by 23%.
The budget proposal calls for a 26% reduction in discretionary spending for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), encompassing agencies like the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Specifically, the CDC, under which NIOSH is currently housed, faces a proposed cut of approximately $3.6 billion, or 39% of its current budget.
Beyond HHS cuts, the budget proposal identifies funding cuts to other areas of the government that serve fire and EMS agencies. Here are three areas of impact:
- The proposal includes a $646 million cut to FEMA. The budget proposal does not specifically list AFG or SAFER Grants by name, but it does reference reducing FEMA grant programs that duplicate existing state and federal programs.
- The proposed budget eliminates the Rural Development Community Facilities Grant and Loan Program. This $721 million program provides loans and grants to municipalities to fund necessary community projects like water and sewage systems, libraries, fire and EMS stations, fire apparatus and ambulances.
- The sister program to Community Facilities in more urban areas is the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). The 2026 budget proposal would also eliminate this program, which has provided financial assistance to over 1,200 state and local governments for decades.
Detailing the cuts
Below are excerpts from the 2026 Budget Proposal sent by Russel Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to Senator Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
FEMA
“The Budget reduces wasteful and woke FEMA grant programs, refocusing the agency on sound emergency management. FEMA under the previous administration made ‘equity’ a top priority for emergency relief and declared that DEI was mandatory. The Budget would end activities such as webinars promoting the distribution of disaster aid based on ‘intersectional’ factors like sexual orientation and prioritizing ‘investment in diversity and inclusion efforts...and multicultural training’ over disaster prevention and response. FEMA will no longer ‘instill equity as a foundation of emergency management.’ FEMA discriminated against Americans who voted for the President in the wake of recent hurricanes, skipping over their homes when providing aid. This activity will no longer be tolerated. Programs like ‘Targeting Violence and Terrorism Prevention’ were weaponized to target Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. Other eliminated programs, such as National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, lack authorization from the Congress and duplicate the efforts of existing Federal and State programs. FEMA’s Preparedness Grants Portfolio, as well as State-level programs, are better suited to dealing with this range of issues. The Budget reduces bloat and waste while encouraging States and communities to build resilience and use their unique local knowledge and ample resources in disaster response.”
USDA Rural Development
“USDA’s Rural Development programs are streamlined to focus on programs that have demonstrated efficient results and are an appropriate Federal role. Infrastructure loans are prioritized for aging rural water and wastewater systems, as well as technical assistance through the ‘Circuit Rider’ program balanced with reductions in the grants. Other specialty water grants and earmarks are not funded except where the tax base cannot support loans, including maintaining funding for Native American Tribes.
Community facility grants are eliminated, as the Congress has eroded these grants by earmarking nearly 100 percent of them. No new USDA funding is needed for broadband expansion, as existing balances and other Federal resources are meeting planned growth. The Budget would also eliminate programs that are duplicative, too small to have macro-economic impact, costly to deliver, in limited demand, available through the private sector, or conceived as temporary. These include rural business programs, single family housing direct loans, self-help housing grants, telecommunications loans, and rural housing vouchers. Rural Development salaries and expenses are reduced commensurately.”
Community Development Block Grants
“The Budget proposes to eliminate the CDBG program, which provides formula grants to over 1,200 State and local governments for a wide range of community and economic development activities. CDBG is poorly targeted, and the program has been used for a variety of projects that the Federal Government should not be funding, such as improvement projects at a brewery, a plaza for concerts, and skateboard parks.
This type of a program is better funded and administered at the State and local level. For example, the Town of Greenwich in Connecticut’s famously affluent ‘Gold Coast’ does not need Federal grants, yet it received nearly $4 million in CDBG funding in the last five years and spent it on wasteful projects like theater arts programming for students and public swimming pool renovations.”
Call to action
The final 2026 federal budget still needs to be drafted and approved by both chambers of Congress.
I encourage you to find time in your schedule to speak with your federal legislators. If your department or agency has benefited from one of these programs, please explain these benefits to your representatives.
