1 min read

Season 6, Episode 22

The potential impact of a Federal Funding Freeze on Ohio communities

Policy Matters Ohio Gray 2025

 

Guest Name:


Hannah Halbert

Guest Website:


Policy Matters Ohio 

Guest Social Media:


Twitter

LinkedIn

Supportive Documents:


Hannah Halbert, Executive Director of Policy Matters Ohio, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the recent federal funding freeze and its potential impact on Ohio's economy and vulnerable populations.

Raised in rural Kentucky, Halbert's upbringing was shaped by her family's experiences in the coal industry. Her journey was supported by federally funded social programs and high labor standards, which she has since used to fuel her commitment to advocating for equitable policies. With Policy Matters Ohio, a non-profit research institute, Halbert advocates for state policy to reflect the needs of working families.

Halbert highlighted the significant role federal funds play in Ohio's budget, comprising over one-third of the state's general revenue. She emphasized the potential economic impact that could occur if these funds were withheld, affecting essential services like child care, kinship care and unemployment insurance. Halbert's research revealed the funding freeze could disrupt not only public programs but also affect the employment status of countless Ohioans who rely on these services.

Uncertainty surrounding the federal funding freeze has left many organizations and state agencies searching for answers, Halbert said. She called for greater leadership and clarity from Ohio's lawmakers, urging them to stand up for the state's residents. She stressed the importance of recognizing the interconnectedness of federal spending and local economies and advocating for policies that protect and support vulnerable communities.

Listen to the show above for more from Halbert on the potential impact of a federal funding freeze on Ohio communities.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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