Federal Funds

Lawmakers failed to renew the Legacy Restoration Fund last year, but are now pushing to reauthorize it for the country's 250th birthday. It would support hundreds of projects, including in Utah.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is over 60 years old and receives about $900 million each year. However, not all Indigenous tribes know they can take part, or how to navigate applying.

The funds, part of the Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program, were earmarked to help people pay air conditioning this summer, which is anticipated to have extreme heat.

A report from the Brookings Institution found work requirements only led to reduced participation in the program. From July 2025 to January 2026, SNAP participation in Utah dropped almost 10%.

Hundreds of Utahns have gotten homes through a federal initiative. But after a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule change, the program is going away in northern Utah.

President Trump's proposed budget called the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, "unnecessary." Advocates, however, pointed to raising utility bills and limits on state support.

In other news, half of the Medicaid funds intended for patient care at nursing homes were misused, according to a state audit. And, privacy rules for voter registration records have changed in Utah.

With the United State's 250th birthday this year, however, domestic travel is expected to increase — pushing advocates and politicians to ask Congress to renew a key fund for overdue parks repairs.

For decades, lower income families in Cache County relied on this program to attain home ownership. After federal changes, that could come to an end.

In other news, state leaders are asking the federal government for $1 billion to support Great Salt Lake after President Donald Trump said it was "very important" to save the lake.