fy25budget

New House appropriations committee chair Tom Cole (R-OK) has announced a rule that nonprofits are not eligible for “community project funding” (i.e., earmarks) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative in the FY 2025 appropriations bill. In FY 2024, this account provided $3.3 billion to public and nonprofit organizations, and CQ Roll Call reports that nearly $800 million of the House’s projects went to nonprofits. The rules for FY 2025 also maintain the ban Cole’s predecessor, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), placed on all earmarks in the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education funding bill. At this point, the Senate does not seem likely to conform with the House’s change—the Senate has not published a change to its guidance and did not follow the House’s restrictions in FY 2024.

The White House published its FY 2025 budget this week. As Congress will ultimately produce its preferred budget, the president’s release like those of previous Administrations serves as more of a messaging document outlining a vision and priorities. For tech-based economic development (TBED), the message is that Congress has provided ample tools but needs to continue to fund them.