More than two dozen advocacy networks from around the country have sued the Trump administration to block new grant restrictions that threaten vital services to transgender people, domestic violence victims and other vulnerable communities.
The restrictions originated from multiple executive orders and other administration directives that require nonprofit groups to choose between accepting the “unlawful” guidelines or foregoing funding needed for programs serving youth and families, homeless populations and immigrants, Democracy Forward said in announcing the lawsuit.
Democracy Forward is litigating the case along with the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Rhode Island.
Skye Perryman
“These unconstitutional conditions are insidious to democracy and violate the Constitution by forcing hundreds of nonprofit organizations to accept vague, politically motivated conditions Congress never intended for,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward. “Further, the grant restrictions were added without any reasoned decision-making or consideration for the impossible situation many of the plaintiffs face, which violates the Administrative Procedure Act.”
Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families et al. v. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., identifies plaintiffs as a coalition of statewide sexual assault and domestic violence alliances, community based nonprofits and a county safety net hospital seeking to prevent HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and other defendants “from imposing ideological, extra-statutory conditions on grant funds.”
A department-wide policy now demands grant applicants to “align” with agency priorities, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
“The administration’s policy priorities are all too familiar. They include erasure of gender identity and transgender people, elimination of diversity and inclusion practices that aim to address racial disparities, the exclusion of immigrants from services, and rejection of Housing First strategies that have been proven effective, among other priorities articulated in a series of executive orders,” the suit says.
The result is a “lose-lose decision” between conceding to the illegal HHS requirements or passing on much-needed federal funding and the resulting betrayal of clients, missions and possibly facing legal liabilities, the lawsuit contends.
HHS said its grants can only be awarded to organizations that “demonstrably advance the president’s policy priorities.”
HHS said its grants can only be awarded to organizations that “demonstrably advance the president’s policy priorities” including those prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, services to immigrants and those benefitting clients who deny gender is binary — meaning limited to male and female as assigned at birth.
Democracy Forward pointed out that the administration lost a separate case earlier this year in which HHS attempted to impose unlawful restrictions on grants. “Though the unlawful imposition of ideological conditions on grants has already been stopped by courts, the administration is again attempting to force nonprofit groups to either fundamentally betray their missions, legal obligations, and clients or to lose vital funding entirely.”
Plaintiffs lamented the necessity of having to sue in order to serve their clients.
“Our members provide critical social and health services to protect children, support youth and families and help Rhode Islanders through their most difficult moments,” said Tanja Kubas-Meyer, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families.
“We refuse to accept any grant conditions that deny trans and other marginalized survivors the support they need to heal,” added Krista Colón, executive director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. “Together with the other state coalitions and plaintiff organizations, we’re joining this lawsuit to protect California’s safety net for survivors. This includes housing options, safety planning, counseling, and other life-saving services.”
And it is “beyond cruel” that the administration is taking actions that limit funding for sexual violence survivors said Brie Franklin, executive director of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “All survivors, especially those who are being targeted because of their identities — LGBTQ, people of color, immigrants — deserve, and are legally entitled to, access to essential services provided by our member programs.”