Navigating Advocacy in the Era of Recissions

In today’s fiscal and political climate, rescission packages are likely to be the norm as the Trump Administration tries to formalize DOGE cuts and show fiscal constraint.  The Senate is working through the latest recissions package, and we expect more to come. For organizations, this poses a growing threat - winning funding in an appropriations bill is no longer the end of the fight; it’s just the beginning.

Here are three steps to avoid being included in future recission packages:

(1) Keep a close eye on unobligated balances. Track the status of your program's funding and work with recipients of the funds to ensure demand for funding is well-known. It can be helpful to identify roadblocks to spending the money and share this, as well as support for the program, with agency staff, OMB, and appropriators.

(2) Maintain support for the program even after you win the funding. Winning a hard-fought appropriations battle deserves a victory lap. However, it’s important not to get complacent. Regular check-ins with appropriators and authorizers can go a long way in flagging your program as worth protecting.

(3) Push for federal implementation. Agencies often delay disbursements due to uncertainty or a lack of clear program guidance. Engage early and often to encourage the release of timely NOFOs, cooperative agreements, or grantee apportionments. Getting the money out the door quickly will give opportunities to show impact on the ground.

In this era of recissions packages, organizations must be playing the long game and engaging with both Congress and the Administration when looking at funding requests.