\t\t\t\t\tOverview:<\/p>\n
Dallas County has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over the clawback of $70 million in public health funds. The lawsuit claims that the demand last spring for $11.4 billion in unspent pandemic-era funding to be returned to federal coffers was illegal. Dallas County lost $70 million in federal funding, resulting in the layoff of nearly two dozen employees. The federal government’s reasoning for the clawback that the grants are no longer needed because the pandemic had ended is based on factors that Congress did not intend defendants to consider.<\/p>\n
Dallas County, buoyed by a recent Harris County court win, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over the clawback of $70 million in public health funds.<\/p>\n
Dallas County\u2019s lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 5, claims the demand last spring that $11.4 billion in unspent pandemic-era funding be returned to federal coffers was an illegal one. The argument mirrors one made in\u00a0a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 23 states<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 all led by Democratic governors \u2014 and the District of Columbia, that the rescinding of the unspent money awarded under one president cannot be seized under a different one. The states\u2019 court battle is ongoing.<\/p>\n Texas did not join the states\u2019 lawsuit, despite losing\u00a0an estimated $700 million<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sign up for our free newsletter to receive original, on-the-ground reports from the DFW area three times per week!\u00a0<\/p>\n In Dallas County\u2019s case, the public health department lost $70 million in federal funding funneled through the Texas Department of State Health Services and as a result, the county had to lay off nearly two dozen employees. The sudden loss in funding will cause \u201csignificant harm\u201d to Dallas County, the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n \u201cThe funding, which Dallas County received through new grant programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, was not limited to the duration of the pandemic and was generally expected to address the effects of the pandemic and prepare Dallas County for future public health crises,\u201d Dallas County\u2019s lawsuit states.\u00a0<\/p>\n The federal government\u2019s reasoning for the clawback \u2014 that the grants are no longer needed because the pandemic had ended \u2014 \u201cis based on factors that Congress did not intend<\/p>\n Defendants to consider and improperly assumes without support that the funds were only intended for pandemic-related use,\u201d Dallas County\u2019s lawsuit states.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dallas County\u2019s case is now before U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, the same judge who last summer\u00a0ordered the return of $20 million<\/a>\u00a0in slashed federal public health funds to Harris County.\u00a0<\/p>\n The action from both Dallas and Harris counties indicates that the state\u2019s two largest public health departments are done waiting on state officials to represent their interests in recapturing funds appropriated under a Democratic president but clawed back by a Republican one.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last spring, the Trump administration shocked public health departments across the country by announcing\u00a0$11 billion<\/a>\u00a0in unused pandemic-era public health funds to states must now be returned to federal coffers. Although much of the pandemic-era funding was due to expire a few months after the Trump administration\u2019s announcement, local public health departments had in some cases until 2026 to spend the money.<\/p>\n In Texas, some of those funds that were cut had helped pay for testing, staffing and vaccinations during the West Texas measles outbreak.<\/p>\n The Texas Tribune has reached out to the state health department, Texas Attorney General\u2019s office and attorneys representing the federal government for comment, but questions were not immediately answered Friday evening.<\/p>\n