The Governor blamed Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” vote for the delay.
Three days after missing a constitutionally mandated June 30th deadline for the state budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro said the ongoing debate on President Trump’s major federal tax and spending bill had impacted their own negotiations. The federal bill, often referred to by Trump as the “big, beautiful bill” returned to the House after it cleared the Senate via a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance. In addition to Shapiro, several other lawmakers have cited the “big, beautiful bill” as a significant source of the holdup. This is the fourth consecutive year that Pennsylvania has missed the June 30th deadline.
The Governor updated the public on the talks in an interview with NewsRadio WILK in Wilkes-Barre, acknowledging the frustratingly slow pace of the talks. Shapiro said he submitted his initial $51.5 billion budget proposal 150 days prior.
“I realize it’s a little bit slow, the legislative process is slow. I wanted these bills on my desk yesterday, but they’ve got a process they’ve got to work through, we’re working through it with them, and I’m confident that we’re going to compromise and find common ground as we have the last two cycles,” Shapiro said. He further criticized Pennsylvania Republicans in the Senate for their apparent lack of urgency. The Democrat-controlled House, however, has not yet offered an initial general fund budget either. Shapiro said that he had recently met with Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman and House Majority Leader Matt Bradford.
Shapiro previously noted some of the major holdups, including proposed regulation of “skill games” to generate additional state revenue, Medicaid, and funding for mass transit. Experts have noted that transit in particular could lead to a transportation crisis if an agreement is not reached. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, Pennsylvania is one of six states that has not yet reached a budget agreement for the upcoming fiscal year.
Among the current holdups, the state of Medicaid and other government-funded programs have been a significant sticking point. Republicans argued the new budget should not include any additional protections for Medicaid after Trump’s allies say the “big, beautiful bill” cut nearly $1 trillion worth of Medicaid fraud and abuse. Republicans say the program remains fully intact for those users who are the intended recipients. Democrats have disputed those claims and have frequently accused both the state and national GOP of trying to remove law-abiding citizens from the program.
Gov. Shapiro denounced any effort to cut protections for Medicaid in the state budget, describing it as “idiotic policies Donald Trump and his cronies are trying to ram through right now.” Shapiro previously made an appearance on a local morning show to discuss the impact of potential Medicaid cuts on Pennsylvania citizens. Many Pennsylvania lawmakers have reassured the public that new work requirements for Medicaid would not impact constituents who truly needed the coverage.
Republicans have also pushed back on Shapiro’s proposed spending plan, saying expense growth will outpace tax revenue growth by about 2.5%. The only new revenue stream currently on the table is through regulation and taxation of “skill games”, but the Governor has been unable to reach an agreement with Republicans on adopting those policies. The Republican-controlled Senate argued that should the state adopt Shapiro’s spending plan, it would find itself in a $3 billion deficit by the end of 2027.
