Small businesses in Arizona are experiencing a financial standstill due to a freeze on federal funding, despite temporary relief from the courts. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny provides insight into the situation.
The freeze affects various programs, notably those supported by the Inflation Reduction Act. These initiatives are designed to assist farmers in transitioning to drought-resistant crops and support business owners in adopting solar energy systems. Kimber Lanning, CEO of Local First Arizona, highlights that these grants operate on a reimbursement basis, requiring upfront spending by the recipients.
“There’s a lot of panic…. So many of them are really trying to figure out what their losses will be and whether or not this may put them into some sort of bankruptcy situation,” Lanning explains.
Among those impacted is Cory Bruening, who manages a family-owned hotel in Cottonwood. He anticipated a reimbursement of approximately $30,000 from the Rural Energy for America program for solar panel installation. However, he discovered the funds have been put on hold while the U.S. Department of Agriculture reevaluates the program due to new executive orders.
“It was a big chunk of our budget and what we saved up to do it… And so the fact that things have been delayed or it’s in limbo and just sort of sitting there, it creates uncertainty,” Bruening states.
Attempts to obtain comments from the Arizona office of the USDA’s Rural Development Program were unsuccessful.
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