Federal Government Pauses $11B Worth Of Army Corps Of Engineers Projects
Another round of government-funded projects has been put on hold as the federal shutdown continues.
This time, $11B in projects by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are going on an immediate pause and could be canceled altogether. The government entity works on public service, construction, environmental and military engineering projects and is a branch within the Army.
Some, like those in San Francisco, Boston and Baltimore, are considered low priority, according to a social media post by Russell Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. A large share of them are in so-called sanctuary cities, a budget office spokesperson told Politico.
There is no publicly available list of affected projects. A review process is underway to determine the ones the agency can complete.
"Because of the lapse in appropriations that provide for oversight of Army Corps projects, we believe that our office and the Corps may be unable to provide adequate oversight of all the projects currently in the portfolio, which includes projects essential to life and safety," a USACE spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Bisnow.
USACE developments under review are in Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, California, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York. About $7B of the funds were allocated for projects in New York. Another $600M was slated to go toward the replacement of canal bridges owned by the federal government in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, according to Reuters.
"Once the lapse and review are over, the Administration may consider taking further actions allowable under the law that limit, cancel, or reprioritize resources in a manner that is consistent with these reviews and with the Administration’s stated priorities," the spokesperson said.
Last week, Trump announced if the government shutdown continues, his administration would continue to cut “Democrat programs.”
The Trump administration has already frozen $26B in funding for climate and infrastructure-related projects since the shutdown began, largely in cities within blue states. One of those is Chicago’s transit modernization project, which has lost $2.1B in funding.
The shutdown has sent ripples through some other corners of CRE. Hundreds of Housing and Urban Development employees, including all building inspectors for federally funded housing, were reportedly fired last week.
Inspections for health and safety aspects are required by law for public and subsidized housing and buildings for tenants with affordable housing vouchers.
