What a Cut To Federal Language Grants Actually Means

Recently the Trump Administration pushed forward a memo that froze trillions of dollars of federal grants and loans. This memo, drafted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), caused widespread confusion due to its vague wording, far-reaching implications, and failure to explain how the OMB gained the legal authority to carry out such a measure.

After heavy pushback from both Congress and non-profits as well as a legal challenge that successfully froze the memo, the administration moved to rescind their initial plan last Wednesday. This came only after the memo caused Medicaid recipients across the country to experience a pause in services, after federal workers scrambled to parse through their new directives.

While the freeze in federal spending has been stopped, the Trump Administration has made it known that they are still pursuing ways to cut out broad swaths of federal funding, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating President Trump’s executive orders “on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”

Much discussion has been had over the effects such a freeze could have on services like Medicaid and FAFSA, but we at 7C Lingo would like to highlight the number of language service programs that rely on Federal Funding to remain operational, including the Health Resources and Services Administration, the State Trade Expansion Program, and the Office for Minority Health. From medical to legal appointments, more than 25 million Americans with limited English proficiency rely on these programs on a regular basis. To help understand the full ramifications a federal funding freeze would have if implemented, here are just a few Language Service Grants that could be suspended in the coming months and what that suspension means for the people that rely on them.

Health Resources and Services Administration

An operating division of the Health and Human Services department, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) helms many programs designed to support limited English speakers’ right to adequate and consistent medical care. These include programs like the Primary Care Training and Enhancement-Language and Disability Access grant, which gives funding to both hospitals and medical schools to train doctors to care for patients lacking English proficiency.

Already, the HRSA’s language access program has been destabilized by the rescinding of Executive Order 13985, a Biden policy designed to provide equal access to medical attention, among other services, to all people regardless of race and ethnicity. With the groundwork already set, it is likely that the Trump Administration will continue to defund the department, and that non-English speakers in this country will see a lapse in service for easily accessible medical interpreters.

State Trade Expansion Program

Not only individuals are affected by limited access to these grants and programs. Small businesses could see a drastic decrease in their ability to grow and find customers in the international marketplace. This is because many businesses rely on the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) in order to take that first step. Through STEP grants, small businesses gain funding for training their existing workforce in cultural development, translating their websites and marketing materials, and even travel for international trade shows and workshops.

By cutting out funding for small businesses on top of supporting a risky tariff plan, the Trump administration threatens to cause a shrinkage in the amount of goods and services being exported out of the United States as well as the amount of foreign capital entering, greatly reducing the health of many middle-class businesses.

Office of Minority Health

It has been widely reported that those with limited English capabilities have trouble securing adequate medical care in the United States. Not all of these barriers are created deliberately, as many of them exist as a consequence of ignorance. Despite making up 8% of the US population, many limited English individuals fade into the background, unable to advocate for their medical rights due to speaking capabilities. It is because of studies funded by the Office of Minority Health’s (OMH) Minority Research Grant Program that we have access to any of this data in the first place. In addition to supporting LEI’s, this grant has supported numerous studies looking into disparities in healthcare access for racial and ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Unfortunately, like HRSA, OMH is a wing of the Health and Human Services Department, meaning that budgetary restraints to HHS will not only affect our country’s ability to tackle the issues in medicine plaguing the Limited English population, but also our ability to even gauge the size of the problem.

Why This Matters

Beyond the moral implications, 7C Lingo recognizes the important role limited English speakers play within our economy. 25 million Americans do not speak English as their primary language and have a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English, with the majority of these people being of working age. To reduce funding for these grants is to reduce access to medical care, legal consultation, and other essential services, greatly deteriorating their quality of life. It’s also possible that the places who do utilize these grants the most, such as hospitals, might still use interpretation services but push this cost onto the consumer, increasing the price of medical bills and reducing the amount of disposable funds that flow back into local economies.