Energy Department cancels $500 million in grants for Colorado amid federal shutdown

The Trump administration is turning up the heat, as a federal government shutdown heads into a third day. Impacts will be felt in the state of Colorado as a result. 

The U.S. Department of Energy announced it is eliminating $7.6 billion in grants for 16 blue states, including Colorado.

As the battle drags on, health care for millions of Americans such as Aubrey Hix of Northglenn hangs in the balance.

A year ago, Hix took a leap of faith by leaving her corporate job to strike out on her own as public relations and marketing consultant.

"I'm just trying to live the American dream and have some fun and work-life balance and do things that I'm passionate about," Hix told CBS Colorado. 

It wouldn't have been possible, Hix says, if not for tax credits approved by U.S. Congress in 2021, which made health insurance on the state exchange affordable.

Hix's premium is about $450 each month now, but the tax credits expire at the end of December. Unless Congress votes to extend them, her premium could nearly double.

Hix says she and her husband, who has a chronic health condition, spent more than $30,000 on health care in 2024 alone. 

"You can't get blood from a stone," Hix said. There's only so much people can do ... Where are we going to get that money? I don't know where people are going to find the money to pay for increased premiums when they're already pretty high."

The Colorado Division of Insurance says 225,000 Coloradans will see their rates increase by 174% on average if the tax credits expire.

Congressional Democrats refuse to let that happen. They're demanding any federal funding bill include an extension of the credits. It's a demand Republicans have refused to entertain, leading to a government shutdown that is becoming increasingly bitter. 

The Colorado Energy Office confirms the Trump administration is canceling 30 grants totaling more than $500 million in Colorado for projects ranging from methane reduction to grid resilience. The Energy Office released a statement that said, "This clearly politically motivated targeting of grants by the administration will balloon energy costs, threaten grid reliability, increase pollution, and create instability in our business community."

President Trump is also threatening to fire thousands of furloughed federal employees.

"It is surreal, honestly," Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen told CBS Colorado. Her district includes the Federal Center in Lakewood. "It's unfathomable that (Trump) is using our federal workers. These are not people that are in this because of their party affiliation. They're not in this because they're [aid so well. They're in this because they care about our country."

Republican Rep. Jeff Crank says Democrats are the ones using federal workers as pawns. 

"It just doesn't make sense to continue to use this wedge against the government workers, particularly, I think, our military and our first responders," Crank told CBS Colorado. "That's why I voted to keep the government open."

Democrats, including Rep. Jason Crow, are standing their ground.

"If the Republicans think that this is a normal funding battle and that we're just going to rubber stamp their request given what's happening in this country and what they're trying to do to Americans' bottom line and their health care, they have lost their damn mind," Crow told CBS Colorado. 

As the showdown and shutdown continue, Aubrey Hix hopes lawmakers will see the big picture. She wrote a letter to her congressman, Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, urging him to extend the tax credits even on a temporary basis. 

"We cannot lose this benefit, as imperfect as it is in its form to make a point Hix said. "We need to at least, at least extend and move a little forward so we have some time to figure out how to do it right," Hix said. 

Congress was not in session Thursday due to Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish religious calendar. The House has adjourned until Oct. 8. The Senate is expected to reconvene Friday and take another vote on a short-term funding bill.

Republican leaders says they will not meet over the weekend, so -- unless the bill passes -- the shutdown will stretch into next week.