Biden Unfreezes Billions at Two-Dozen Agencies, Reversing Trump’s Last Minute Budget Maneuver – By Eric Katz (Nextgov) / Feb 1 2021
On his way out the door, Trump blocked agencies from accessing funds in 73 accounts.
President Biden on Sunday formally revoked his predecessor’s effort to rescind $27 billion in funding spread across two-dozen federal agencies, unfreezing the money for immediate expenditure.
Just days before he left office, President Trump issued a rescission request under the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. Trump had warned he would issue such a proposal when he signed the fiscal 2021 omnibus spending package in December, which narrowly averted a shutdown. His request triggered a 45-day freeze on the funds, which Biden lifted in his Sunday action.
The previous White House, which noted the rescission package was the largest ever proposed, identified the funds as “wasteful and unnecessary spending” and amounts “no longer needed for the purposes for which they were appropriated.” It focused largely on international aid efforts through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, but the 73 targeted programs also included those related to climate research, federal student aid and renewable energy.
