This email provides an important update on the timing and availability of federal grant funding since our previous updates in August 2024, January 2025, and April 2025.
Following the April 24 letter from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the State of Oregon has joined a lawsuit along with 19 other states challenging the ability of U.S. DOT to withhold funds from recipients who do not comply with federal immigration enforcement policies. On Thursday, June 19, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting U.S. DOT from implementing or enforcing the immigration condition.
What does this mean for transit providers in Oregon?
With the preliminary injunction in place, ODOT will continue to process Federal Transit Administration grants to receive the federal funding our state has been expecting. This is good news, and ODOT will work under direction of legal guidance on next steps.
As we have shared previously, however, we are now transitioning to paying eligible expenses after federal grants have been executed and those funds are available. Subrecipients can continue to submit reimbursement requests for eligible expenses incurred and our team will review invoices for active federal funds where available or for critical expenses for grants that have not been fully executed yet with the FTA while we work with FTA to close that gap. We are no longer able to sustain using interim funds to pay invoices, as we have laid out in our prior communications.
We request transit providers monitor federally eligible spending carefully to ensure the federal funds are available and the expenses are eligible and make informed business decisions. We continue to prepare subgrant agreements. FTA’s Master Agreement 33 contains the immigration condition and ODOT does not certify or agree to this condition, so you may see reference to this condition in new subgrant agreements. Master Agreement 33 may be attached to previous subgrant agreements or agreements you have with FTA. We strongly encourage providers to review FTA agreements and subgrant agreements with legal counsel, and review final statements of work to ensure alignment with FTA requirements before incurring eligible expenses. We will keep you updated of major developments in federal funds.
We know that uncertainty with federal funding is difficult. We encourage agencies to plan ahead and contact your Regional Transit Coordinator with questions, for more detailed grant information, and if you experience financial hardship related to delays in federal funding that could result in service reduction.
