Federal funding freeze creates 'considerable uncertainty' for BEAD

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has rescinded a memorandum that would have put a pause on all federal grant funds, creating significant confusion. The grants paused as part of the memorandum included  funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), part of which is the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The memorandum stated that “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders.”