Federal judge orders release of frozen Biden-era funds to farmers

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several other federal agencies to release billions of dollars in funding tied to the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, halting the Biden administration’s freeze on these allocations.

The preliminary injunction, issued earlier this week by U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island, prevents the USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the departments of Energy, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development from suspending or delaying funds that were already awarded under the two laws.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan had extended the temporary order blocking a broad plan that aimed to freeze what could amount to trillions of dollars in federal spending. Although the memo detailing the freeze has been withdrawn, the Republican administration has indicated it still intends to pursue some form of funding freeze as part of its wave of executive actions.

According to The Associated Press, the agencies are required to immediately resume the processing and distribution of those funds.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by conservation organizations and nonprofit groups, challenging the administration’s decision to pause disbursements. 

In addition to lifting the freeze, McElroy directed the White House Office of Management and Budget and the National Economic Council to formally notify all affected federal agencies about the court’s decision and ordered agencies to notify grant recipients as well. Agencies were to provide the court with a status update by Wednesday.

So far, no updates on the status have been published. 

The USDA had received a significant portion of IRA funding for conservation initiatives designed to promote climate-smart agricultural practices. Programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program were central to the effort, with commitments totaling billions of dollars in federal support. For example, EQIP alone was set to receive $8.45 billion, while RCPP was allocated $4.9 billion.

In addition to conservation funding, the USDA was awarded $13.5 billion under the IRA for renewable energy efforts, including initiatives such as the Rural Energy for America Program and the Powering Affordable Clean Energy program. Before the freeze, the USDA had announced dozens of contracts and funding opportunities for both farmers and rural communities through these programs.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had previously noted that the USDA was working to roll out conservation funds signed under the Biden administration, which aggressively pushed to secure contracts and distribute financial assistance for climate-related projects. However, the future of many of those contracts became uncertain when the administration paused IRA-related spending.