In a normal year, it’s confusing enough to follow the decisions on federal spending levels. President’s budget. Budget resolutions. Appropriations. Continuing resolutions.
This isn’t a normal year.
There’s all the regular appropriations process, for sure. But on top of that, we have unilateral cuts by the executive branch (DOGE), which may or may not hold up after judicial review. And maybe most limiting, there are all the job cuts. It doesn’t much matter if you’re eligible for, say, a Pell Grant and how much money they have if there’s nobody to process your application.
Discretionary spending (everything the government spends that isn’t required by law, including highways, defense, space, cancer research, the intelligence community, disaster relief, and national parks) used to be about half the federal budget. This year alone, the president’s budget called for a 23% cut in non-defense discretionary spending, while proposing increases in defense, border funding, and the FAA.
Some programs that are widely used are proposed for elimination, including Head Start (which serves 180 Adams County children, 3-5, and their families), Meals on Wheels (which serves elderly shut-ins), and the LIHEAP program for insulating poor people’s homes to reduce utility bills. People look at the dollar cost of these programs but seldom look at the cost of canceling them. Take Headstart, for example. It’s easy to say, “free nursery school, let them pay for it like I did.” But it’s also affordable child care, which lets many of those 180+ mothers hold down a job.triggr
Some of the cuts are based on outright lies. For example, the universal Republican talking point about Medicaid is they’re not really cutting anything, just requiring able bodied people to work. This revival of Reagan’s ever popular “welfare queen” fairy tale doesn’t even pass the basic logic test. Envision the problem, the “strapping young buck” (to borrow another Reagan image) sitting at home living high on the hog on his … reimbursement for medical bills? The fact is, those cuts are going to take medical care from millions. The $35 co-pay alone will do that. Hundreds of hospitals will close.
Another lie is, “We’re not touching Medicare.” Yes. They are. The deficits in the bill would trigger automatic $500m in Medicare cost reductions.
One of the most highly regarded organizations in town, SCCAP, is especially vulnerable. All food pantries are likely to experience significant cuts. The CSBG program, which covers many administrative expenses, is slated to be eliminated.
Some major impacts are unrelated to federal funding decisions. Gettysburg College has benefited financially and culturally from more than 300 international students (14% of the student body). These registrations are collapsing at colleges around the country. Every international student who doesn’t enroll is one more student who isn’t paying list price, doesn’t eat out in local restaurants, etc.
Besides significant funding cuts, the Gettysburg National Military Park is potentially vulnerable to the “negative history” executive order. International tourism has never been a big factor, so the park and the county are largely insulated from the collapse of international tourists.
Price increases should become visible at Wal-Mart, Target, etc., within the next week or two.
Pennsylvania now stands as the #4 wine producer in the nation, accounting for $7b in economic activity. Wine exports are declining rapidly due to tariffs, trade wars, and other actions.
DFA will continue to follow budget cut proposals as they make their way through Congress.
Leon Reed is a former US Senate staff member, defense consultant, and history teacher. He is a 10 year resident of Gettysburg, where he writes military history and explores the park and the Adams County countryside. He is the publisher at Little Falls Books, chaired the Adams County 2020 Census Complete Count Committee and is on the board of SCCAP. He and his wife, Lois, have 3 children, 3 cats, and 5 grandchildren.