“我得睡着了才能不担心”：随着特朗普即将上任，马萨诸塞州的联邦资金可能会减少
【中美创新时报2024 年 12 月 1 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）官员们正在努力迅速花光并确保联邦资金安全，他们担心特朗普上任后这些资金可能会面临风险。《波士顿环球报》记者Emma Platoff对此作了下述报道。
拜登政府对马萨诸塞州有利：与白宫的牢固关系帮助马萨诸塞州的政客们推进政策理念、制定任命并赢得大量联邦资金。
这种好运可能会在明年 1 月结束，届时美国将迎来一位新的共和党总统，他几乎没有理由对这个可靠的蓝州微笑，因为民主党在立法机构中占主导地位，并占据着每个州和国会的职位。
在为唐纳德·特朗普第二次担任总统做准备的同时，马萨诸塞州的政治和非营利组织领导人正在为以下可能性做准备：联邦资金稳定流入马萨诸塞州可能会放缓至涓涓细流，这可能会威胁到主要的基础设施和气候项目。官员们正在努力迅速削减开支，并确保联邦资金的安全，他们担心这些资金可能会面临风险。一些人警告说，已经拨给马萨诸塞州的资金可能会受到新政府的威胁，新政府已经表明计划按照自己的规则运作，尽管任何阻止国会已经批准的支出的努力几乎肯定会面临法律挑战。例如，特朗普承诺废除《通货膨胀削减法案》，这是美国有史以来规模最大的旨在遏制气候变化的支出计划。
“时代已经发生了重大变化，我们需要对此保持警惕并意识到这一点，”前州交通部长吉姆·阿洛伊西说。“特朗普政府不会特别有兴趣为我们的国会代表团或州长做好事，”尽管它可能更同情该州的企业，他说。
Aloisi 表示，马萨诸塞州应该考虑规划其他资金来源，例如在基础设施项目中增加通行费。
Lynch 表示，在罗伯特·肯尼迪 (RFK Jr.) 的领导下，联邦对马萨诸塞州的研究资金可能会放缓。
特朗普如何阻止马萨诸塞州的电动汽车转型
上周，州长 Maura Healey 和波士顿市长 Michelle Wu 都在华盛顿特区与那里的官员讨论联邦资金。 （他们还参加了白宫为 2024 年冠军波士顿凯尔特人队举行的庆祝活动。）
在离开国会山与 Healey 的会议时，波士顿众议员 Stephen Lynch 警告说，该州有联邦资金“尚未被支配……支票尚未兑现。”
“我们不希望它处于不确定状态，”Lynch 说，并警告特朗普政府“可能会试图缩减开支，撤回资金。”
在一次简短的采访中，Healey 只说“我当然希望他们不要”试图收回已经拨给马萨诸塞州的任何资金。
马萨诸塞州联邦资金和基础设施主管昆汀·帕尔弗里 (Quentin Palfrey) 表示，她的政府已经在“尽可能快地”采取行动，以确保在特朗普总统任期带来“一些风险”之前完成联邦资助的工作。帕尔弗里是希利为帮助马萨诸塞州争取联邦资金而设立的新办公室。帕尔弗里说，在希利的领导下，该州已通过《两党基础设施法》、《通货膨胀削减法案》和《芯片与科学法案》从联邦政府获得了 90 亿美元，这些都是拜登总统的标志性支出举措。
虽然现在还无法做出确切的预测，但马萨诸塞州的一些人担心该州不会再获得如此规模的资金——尤其是埃隆·马斯克，特朗普已任命他领导一个新的咨询小组，旨在削减 2 万亿美元的联邦支出。
“联邦层面正在发生转变，这显然意味着我们需要迅速推进这些项目，”帕尔弗里说。“我们正在努力锁定我们取得的成果。”
在波士顿，吴雄心勃勃的气候议程依赖于联邦拨款，这些拨款支持了从购买电动校车到劳动力培训等所有项目。吴的发言人表示，该市正在审查每一项联邦拨款的状况，并且“无法准确预测特朗普执政下联邦资金将如何变化”。
波士顿市长吴米歇尔在 2023 年的新闻发布会后乘坐了该市 20 辆新电动校车中的一辆。
2023 年，波士顿市长 Michelle Wu 在新闻发布会后乘坐了该市 20 辆新电动校车中的一辆。Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
目前，每年有数十亿美元从华盛顿流向马萨诸塞州，用于从医疗补助到食品券等各种项目。
大部分联邦资金通过基于国会制定的复杂公式的自动系统流向各州和城市，这个过程很难在未经立法者批准的情况下改变。其中包括对红州和蓝州都至关重要的公路资金，国会不太可能切断这些资金。
在特朗普担任总统期间，马萨诸塞州面临的风险最大的似乎是自由裁量资金，即基于竞争性拨款而授予的资金。例如，很少有人预计特朗普领导的政府会像拜登那样为气候变化适应提供联邦资金。
监督组织马萨诸塞州纳税人基金会主席 Doug Howgate 表示，联邦资金太重要了，不能没有。
“州和联邦资源之间的数量级如此之大，以至于人们必须认识到马萨诸塞州根本没有能力取代联邦资金，”豪盖特说。
不过，他说，该州应该为新时代做好准备。
“当政府更换时，优先事项也会改变，”他说。“在现金到位之前，永远不要假设现金到位。永远不要认为看似万无一失的事情一定是万无一失的。”
一个特别突出的项目依赖联邦资金：更换老化的科德角大桥。州政府官员表示，他们已经为该项目获得了超过 17.1 亿美元的联邦资金，马萨诸塞州国会代表团成员认为，第一座大桥来之不易的资金是安全的，尽管该项目距离完工还有数年时间。
“没有人预料到这些资金会受到威胁，”代表科德角的众议员比尔·基廷说。他们说，如果有任何事情威胁到这笔资金，马萨诸塞州民主党人准备为之而战。
“法律明确规定，资金已被分配和抵押，实际上已经用完了，”参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦本月早些时候告诉《波士顿环球报》。“我承认唐纳德·特朗普不认为法律适用于他，但我们打算确保法律适用于他。”
不过，对一些人来说，在特朗普政府的领导下，没有任何保证。阿洛伊西指出，桥梁等项目的资金是通过偿还的方式进行的——向州政府偿还项目资金，而不是预先提供现金——这进一步增加了不确定性。
“这不像是‘这是一张支票！’而是，不，你先完成工作，然后我们再偿还你，”阿洛伊西说。这不会没有争议，但“他们很容易说，我们现在正在重新评估拨款，”阿洛伊西补充道。
即将上任的特朗普政府也给仍需要资金的项目带来了不确定性，包括第二座 Cape 大桥。
科德角本地人、Chartwell Strategy Group 的长期共和党说客 David Tamasi 表示，尽管政府发生了变化，但马萨诸塞州的“天不会塌下来”。他预测，众议院的微小分歧将意味着共和党和民主党必须共同制定支出法案。
不过，为科德角大桥项目筹集资金可能比拜登入主白宫时更加复杂。
“这并不意味着它不可能发生，”Tamasi 说。“但这需要代表团和各利益相关方的巧妙倡导。”
在该州的其他地方，州参议员 Joanne Comerford 多年来一直在推动恢复波士顿、格林菲尔德和北亚当斯之间的铁路服务，这些铁路位于马萨诸塞州北部边缘，直到 20 世纪中叶，火车一直运载着乘客。
这项工作仍处于早期阶段，但 Comerford 承认，获得任何必要的联邦资金将更加复杂，“因为我们将有一个特朗普政府。”
“我得睡着了才能不担心，”科默福德说。不过，她说，“我们不需要立即转变。我们可以等待一个不友好的政府。我们可以考虑渐进式的方法。”
在波士顿，科德曼广场社区发展公司的执行董事盖尔·拉蒂莫尔说，她的社区组织严重依赖联邦资金，这让她很担心。
她说，她仍在等待有关支持经济适用房绿色改造的联邦拨款的回复。
“如果政府不相信[气候变化]，很多工作都会处于危险之中，”拉蒂莫尔说。她说，她的组织可能会被迫更多地寻求州、市或慈善资源。
也许唯一的保证是：期待特朗普上任后的变化。
“我们现在能做的就是尽力发挥我们手中的实力，”豪盖特说。他笑着补充道，“确保我们有备用计划。”
《环球报》的塔尔·科潘和吉姆·普赞赫拉对本报道亦有贡献。
题图：官员们在 7 月的新闻发布会上吹嘘该州获得了 17 亿美元的联邦资金来更换萨加莫尔大桥。Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
附原英文报道：
‘I would have to be asleep to not be concerned’: With Trump set to take office, Massachusetts could see drop in federal funds
Officials are working to quickly spend down and secure federal dollars they worry could be at risk once Trump takes office.
By Emma Platoff Globe Staff,Updated November 27, 2024
Officials touted the $1.7 billion in federal funding the state received to replace the Sagamore Bridge during a press conference in July.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
The Biden administration has been good for Massachusetts: Strong relationships with the White House helped the Massachusetts politicians advance policy ideas, shape appointments, and win significant federal funding.
That good fortune may be over come January, when the nation inaugurates a new Republican president who has little reason to smile upon this reliably blue state, where Democrats dominate the Legislature and hold every statewide and congressional office.
As they gird themselves for a second Donald Trump presidency, political and nonprofit leaders here are preparing for the possibility that the steady flow of federal funds to Massachusetts could slow to a trickle, potentially threatening major infrastructure and climate projects. Officials are working to quickly spend down and secure federal dollars they worry could be at risk. Some have warned that money already tagged for Massachusetts could be under threat from a new administration that has given every indication it plans to operate by its own rules, though any effort to stop spending already authorized by Congress would all but certainly face legal challenges. Trump has pledged, for example, to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest-ever spending package focused on curbing climate change.
“The times have significantly changed and we need to be alert to it and aware of it,” said Jim Aloisi, a former state transportation secretary. “The Trump administration is not going to be particularly interested in doing favors for our congressional delegation or our governor,” though it might be more sympathetic to businesses in the state, he said.
Aloisi said Massachusetts should consider planning for alternate sources of funding, such as adding tolls to infrastructure projects.
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Both Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu were in Washington, D.C., last week to discuss federal funding with officials there. (They also attended a White House celebration for the 2024 champion Boston Celtics.)
Leaving a meeting with Healey on Capitol Hill, Representative Stephen Lynch of Boston warned that the state has federal money “that remains unencumbered . . . the checks haven’t been cashed.”
“We don’t want it in limbo,” Lynch said, warning that the Trump administration “could try to retrench, pull back money.”
In a brief interview, Healey said only that “I certainly hope they don’t” try to take back any money already tagged for Massachusetts.
Her administration is already moving “as fast as we possibly can” to make sure it completes federally funded efforts before the Trump presidency ushers in “some risks,” said Quentin Palfrey, the state’s director of federal funds and infrastructure, a new office Healey established to help Massachusetts compete for federal dollars. Palfrey said that under Healey, the state has secured $9 billion from the federal government through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS & Science Act, signature spending efforts by President Biden.
While it’s too early to predict with certainty, some in Massachusetts fear the state won’t see funding on that scale again — particularly with Elon Musk, whom Trump has appointed to lead a new advisory panel, aiming to slash $2 trillion in federal spending.
“There’s a transition at the federal level, and that obviously means that we need to move these projects forward quickly,” Palfrey said. “We are working very hard to lock in the gains that we’ve made.”
In Boston, Wu’s ambitious climate agenda has relied on federal grants that have supported everything from the purchase of electric school buses to workforce training. A spokesperson for Wu said the city is reviewing the status of each federal grant and “can’t predict exactly how federal funding may change” under Trump.
Currently, billions of dollars flow to Massachusetts from Washington every year for programs ranging from Medicaid to food stamps.
The bulk of federal money flows to states and cities in an automatic system based on complex formulas set by Congress, a process that would be difficult to alter without approval by lawmakers. Those include pots such as highway funds that are essential to red and blue states alike, and Congress would be unlikely to cut them off.
It’s discretionary funding, dollars awarded based on competitive grants, that appear most at risk for Massachusetts under a Trump presidency. Few expect a government run by Trump to award federal money for climate change adaptations at the scale that Biden has, for example.
Federal funds are far too important to go without, said Doug Howgate, president of the watchdog group Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
“The order of magnitude between state and federal resources is so large that it’s important for people to recognize that Massachusetts simply does not have the capacity to replace federal dollars,” Howgate said.
Still, he said, the state should prepare for a new era.
“When administrations change, priorities change,” he said. “Never assume that cash is in hand until cash is in hand. Never assume that something that seems like a sure thing is necessarily a sure thing.”
One particularly prominent project reliant on federal funds: replacing the aging Cape Cod bridges. State officials say they have secured more than $1.71 billion in federal funding for the project, and members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation believe hard-fought funding for the first bridge is secure, even though the project is years from completion.
“There is no anticipation that these funds are in jeopardy,” said Representative Bill Keating, who represents the Cape. And should anything threaten that funding, Massachusetts Democrats are prepared to fight for it, they said.
“The law is clear that the money has been allocated and encumbered and effectively is gone,” Senator Elizabeth Warren told the Globe earlier this month. “I recognize that Donald Trump does not believe that laws apply to him, but we intend to make sure that they do.”
Still, for some, there can be no guarantees under a Trump administration. Aloisi pointed out that funding for projects such as the bridges works through reimbursement — paying the state back for funds spent on a project, rather than providing the cash upfront — raising further uncertainty.
“It’s not like, ‘Here’s a check!’ It’s like, no, you do the work and then we reimburse you,” Aloisi said. It wouldn’t happen without controversy, but “they could easily say, we’re taking reassessment of grants now,” Aloisi added.
The incoming Trump administration has also created uncertainty for projects that still need funding, including the second Cape bridge.
David Tamasi, a Cape Cod native and longtime Republican lobbyist with Chartwell Strategy Group, said that despite the change in administration, “the sky is not falling” for Massachusetts. The narrow split in the House will mean Republicans and Democrats have to work together on spending bills, he predicted.
Still, securing money for the Cape Cod bridge project will likely be more complicated than it was with Biden in the White House.
“It doesn’t mean that it can’t happen,” Tamasi said. “But that’s going to require skillful advocacy from the delegation and assorted stakeholders.”
Elsewhere in the state, state Senator Joanne Comerford has been pushing for years to restore rail service between Boston, Greenfield, and North Adams, along the northern edge of Massachusetts, where trains carried passengers until the mid-20th century.
The effort is still in early stages, but Comerford acknowledged that obtaining any necessary federal funds will be more complicated, “because we’ll have a Trump administration.”
“I would have to be asleep to not be concerned,” Comerford said. Still, she said, “we don’t need an immediate turn. We can wait out an unfriendly administration. We can think about incremental approaches.”
In Boston, Gail Latimore, executive director of the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, said her community organization is heavily reliant on federal dollars, which has her worried.
She said she is still waiting to hear back about a federal grant that would support green retrofits for affordable housing.
“It’s a lot of work that is in jeopardy if you do have an administration that doesn’t believe in [climate change],” Latimore said. Her organization might be forced to look more toward state, city, or philanthropic resources, she said.
Perhaps the only guarantee: Expect changes when Trump takes office.
“All we can do right now is kind of play the hand we have,” Howgate said. And, he added with a laugh, “make sure we have a backup plan.”
Tal Kopan and Jim Puzzanghera of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
