Trump threatens to kill grant that helps reintegrate Idaho prisoners | Opinion
Another congressionally approved program that would benefit Idaho is apparently on the chopping block because President Donald Trump is triggered by the word “equity.”
Funding for the federal Digital Equity Act was approved in January, before Trump was inaugurated. In all, $250 million was awarded to 24 projects, including a $10.7 million project in Idaho that would provide hundreds of computer tablets and Chromebooks to six Idaho re-entry centers to help thousands of people being released from prison to reintegrate into society. The Utah Department of Corrections is also part of the grant program.
The tablets come with training content, such as resume-writing classes, carpentry lessons and commercial driving training.
“So residents will be able to complete job training and have some sort of skills when they are finally released that they can fall back on instead of being cast out into the world with, ‘OK, I think you did your time, now try to sink your swim,’” Ben Porter, chief technology officer for Ameelio, told me in a phone interview.
Ameelio was one of the first 24 grantees approved in the first round of funding.
Over the four years of the grant program, an estimated 1,100 pre-release tablets would be deployed, as would 1,400 post-release Chromebooks, which can be used for job hunting and further training or education.
About 2,285 people would be served each year, so a total of 9,140 people helped, according to Porter.
Porter said Ameelio was expecting the funding to come through by March, but after Trump’s inauguration in January, everything was put on pause.
“We basically got the program more or less ready to go to deploy as soon as the funding comes through,” Porter said. “And it’s looking like it may be in jeopardy now, based on that (social media post) that President Trump put out.”
Trump’s post about equity grant
On May 8, Trump posted on social media: “I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called ‘Digital Equity Act’ is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL. No more woke handouts based on race! The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!”
Race is not a consideration at all for who gets devices, Porter said. But Trump never lets facts get in the way. And apparently he doesn’t think white people are released from prisons and need this help?
“It has the word ‘equity’ in it, but it’s not what President Trump’s issues with equity typically are,” Porter said. “It’s more about providing broadband and internet access and things like that to people who don’t have it, people who are underserved. So for us, we serve people who are incarcerated, so there’s a very large need for that.”
The Digital Equity Act of 2021 was rolled into the much larger Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law.
The bill had bipartisan support in the Senate, passing 69-30. Both of Idaho’s Republican senators, Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, voted in favor of it.
The bill had a harder time on the House side, passing 228-205, with both of Idaho’s Republican representatives, Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson, voting against it, along with most Republicans.
Other projects awarded as part of the Digital Equity Act include public Wi-Fi in Georgia, workforce training for remote and virtual jobs in Alaska, and distribution of hot spots and home internet equipment in Florida.
Trump’s arbitrary cuts
Like all of Trump’s moves that I’ve reported on this year — USAID, NIH, federal workforce, public media — these cuts are ham-handed, reckless, arbitrary and, in many cases, do more harm than good.
That’s no more evident than in this potential cut to the Idaho grant.
“People re-entering society post-incarceration are often at an enormous disadvantage when it comes to finding work and establishing the next chapter in their lives, and this program can help immensely with that,” Porter said. “We have a real, tangible opportunity to make a difference, and a successful launch could make Idaho a national leader and set a new standard nationwide for how we approach reentry.”
Porter pointed out that it not only makes a big difference in the lives of those directly affected, but it also lowers costs and burdens on all taxpayers, ultimately making communities safer, stronger and more productive.
If Trump does kill the program?
“It would be a disappointment and a shame for all the people of Idaho,” Porter said.
Disappointment and shame, indeed.
