Governor Ned Lamont announced on May 15 that his administration has submitted a supplemental plan to the bipartisan leadership of the Connecticut General Assembly to use funding from the state’s Federal Cuts Response Fund. The goal is to mitigate the impact of federal funding reductions and other policy decisions made by the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans.
The new plan, which is the third since the fund was created late last year, aims to support critical initiatives such as dairy farms, homelessness prevention services, refugee resettlement agencies, and academic research programs. The proposal responds to financial challenges facing these sectors due to recent changes in federal policy.
Connecticut’s dairy industry has been affected by a 25% drop in federally set milk prices while costs for fuel, fertilizer, and energy have risen. Homelessness prevention providers are facing staff reductions and limited client intake because of cuts in federal services. Refugee resettlement nonprofits have seen their aid reduced by about 90%, while steep cuts in academic research funding threaten ongoing projects at UConn and UConn Health.
Under state law establishing the fund, any expenditure requires submission of a detailed plan from the governor to legislative leaders with a 24-hour review period for possible disapproval. Previous plans were approved without objection. “Connecticut will not stand by and let dairy farmers, refugees, homelessness prevention providers and those they serve, and researchers pay the price for federal chaos,” Governor Lamont said. “We created this fund to provide a safety net for the people and businesses being harmed by the Trump administration, and we’re going to keep using it protect our state and our values.”
The third plan includes $3.3 million for new Department of Social Services positions related to eligibility changes under Public Law 119-21; $21 million for University of Connecticut research grants; $14 million for UConn Health Center grants; $22.5 million in support measures for dairy farmers; $17 million for Unemployment Insurance staffing; $500,000 toward modernization of unemployment systems; $3 million in refugee assistance funds; $5 million toward short-term housing stabilization programs; and $1 million supporting affordable health insurance options on Access Health CT.
Prior plans used funds mainly on food banks due to SNAP eligibility changes ($24.55M), healthcare subsidies ($50.76M), enhanced premium tax credits ($64.1M), interim Continuum of Care grants ($6.88M), Planned Parenthood reimbursements ($1.9M), call center support ($4.7M), Medicaid/SNAP client help ($1.54M), community health workers expansion ($2M), system upgrades at Social Services ($11.4M), mental health counselors at schools via EdAdvance ($830K) as well as Community School grants replacement funding in Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury totaling over $4.5 million.
