Pennsylvania Perspective for Monday, July 13, 2026

Pennsylvania

PA General Assembly Passes $50.85B Budget

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a $50.85 billion budget for FY 2026-27, a $1.8 billion or 3.7 percent increase in state spending over last year after accounting for supplemental appropriations and delayed payments to Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) and the Community HealthChoices program, and about $2.4 billion less than Governor Shapiro’s initial $53.26 billion budget proposal. The spending package received broad bipartisan support despite opposition from members of both parties and includes HB2400, the general appropriations bill, SB146, the fiscal code, and HB1505, the public school code, and was approved on Sunday, July 12 after missing the June 30 constitutional deadline for the fifth year in a row.

The budget includes significant investments into education, including an overall increase of more than $678 million with a $565 million increase through the bipartisan adequacy and tax equity formula, $58 million to basic education, and $55 million to special education. Other notable provisions include a pension boost to thousands of retired public sector workers, a $125 million “Innovate in PA 2.0” biotech tax credit program, and requirements for data centers to submit annual reports detailing their energy and water consumption. The budget also does not transfer from the state’s nearly $8 billion rainy day fund or raise taxes, primarily by utilizing accounting maneuvers that pull over $500 million from off-budget special funds, sweep unused agency bank accounts, and delay $1.3 billion in payments to MCOs.

The final budget does not include major policy provisions like legalizing recreational cannabis, raising the minimum wage, regulating skill games, eliminating a sales tax break given to data centers, a digital advertisers tax, and recurring funding for mass transit. The final budget also does not include the $1 billion “critical infrastructure fund” for housing, energy, and school projects funded by general obligation bonds or a $100 million fund to respond to federal government uncertainty that Governor Shapiro originally proposed.

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Philadelphia

Lawmakers Criticize Trump-Promoted Gas Stations

Philadelphia-area Democratic lawmakers have criticized the recently launched “Freedom Fuel” gas station network, labeling the promoted initiative a public relations stunt designed to distract voters from high fuel costs driven by the administration’s military conflict with Iran. The network of 25 rebranded stations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey initially offered discounted fuel at $3.47 per gallon as a symbolic nod to the 47th president. U.S. Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2) characterized the publicized discounts as an insufficient temporary measure that fails to address a broader 50% spike in fuel costs caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. While the White House maintains that Freedom Fuel is an independent, non-subsidized venture financed by patriotic retailers, opposing legislators have raised transparency concerns regarding a newly filed Delaware trademark, suggesting unknown private benefactors are absorbing below-market losses to bolster the administration’s regional polling numbers.

Federal

Senators Fetterman and McCormick Form Joint Fundraising Committee

U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) have established a new joint fundraising committee called Common Ground PA, marking a rare instance of opposing-party legislators combining political operations. According to Federal Election Commission filings, the committee unites the senators’ respective principal campaign committees alongside their individual leadership political action committees, Every Vote PAC and Pennsylvania Honor. Speakers on behalf of the lawmakers noted that the donor-driven initiative allows supporters who value their collaborative work to back both officials simultaneously while splitting fundraising costs and proceeds. The financial alignment follows a series of recent policy partnerships between the two senators, reflecting a shift from previous election cycles when they actively campaigned against one another.

Affordable Housing Overhaul Enacted Without Presidential Signature

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act automatically became federal law after President Donald Trump declined to sign or veto the bipartisan package within the constitutionally mandated 10-day window, choosing instead to withhold his signature as a formal protest against the U.S. Senate’s inaction on the SAVE America Act, a separate voting rights measure. Despite the president’s procedural standoff, the comprehensive housing bill secured overwhelming, veto-proof majorities in both congressional chambers, with State Senator Nikil Saval (D-1) publicly celebrating the law’s inclusion of housing-preservation concepts he has championed. The newly enacted legislation modernizes federal housing policy by easing regulatory barriers on new home construction, expanding eligibility for low-income federal mortgage programs, and directly tying municipal allocations from the $3.3 billion Community Development Block Grant program to local rates of affordable housing production.

PA Lawmakers Contend for Dual Leadership Control of U.S. House Budget Committee

Pennsylvania could secure unprecedented legislative influence over federal spending as U.S. Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11) campaigns to chair the House Budget Committee, where Representative Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2) already serves as the ranking member. Representative Smucker, the panel’s current vice chair and a top-10 fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee, is vying to replace retiring Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19) in a leadership race against Utah Representative Blake Moore (R-UT-1). Though historical precedent shows no single state has held both top leadership spots on the committee since its formal inception in 1973, sources indicate Representative Smucker has consolidated significant support among House Republican Steering Committee members, including regional allies who back his platform of addressing the national debt and advancing fiscally conservative policies.

Senator McCormick Organizes Defense and Innovation Summit

U.S. Senator Dave McCormick has organized the upcoming Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle to highlight the state’s prominent position in national security production, research, and technical talent. The two-day event will bring together high-ranking federal officials, including President Donald Trump, who is expected to announce new investment deals tied to his proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget, alongside military leaders and top executives from major aerospace, defense, and finance corporations. Organizers emphasized that Pennsylvania’s defense sector supports over 190,000 jobs and contributes more than $47 billion in total economic impact, ranging from manufacturing operations to advanced artificial intelligence research. Additionally, a bipartisan coalition of Pennsylvania lawmakers has petitioned the Air Force to leverage the region’s technical depth by basing a new combat communications squadron in Western Pennsylvania.

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