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🎶  Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. Stop! In The Name of Love, The Supremes

PA Weather
☁️ Scenery Hill | Mostly Cloudy, 47
☂️ Towanda | Rain before noon, 48
☔ Honey Brook | Showers, 59

PA Sports
🏒 Flyers (26-26-7) | Thu vs. Pittsburgh
🏒 Penguins (23-28-9) | Thu vs. Philadelphia
🏀 Sixers (20-38) | New York 105-110 | Sat vs. Golden State
⚽ Union (1-0) | Sat vs. Cincinnati

🗓️  What’s Happening Today. The House Appropriations Committee holds hearings with the DEP, DCNR and Aging. The Senate Appropriations Committee will hear from Agriculture and DCED.

📱  Social Media. Join us on Twitter and Bluesky at @PoliticsPA

Top Story

1. Pennsylvania State Elected Officials Concerned Over Potential Cuts to Medicaid After Budget Resolution Passes House

“Congress is one step closer to passing a budget, but it is leaving some concerned about cuts that could be coming. One of the proposed cuts would be Medicaid.

Pennsylvania Senate Democrats are alarmed at the possibility of cutting anything to Medicaid while Senate Republicans are saying hold the phone here. Nothing is set in stone. Let’s see how this plays out.” (CBS Pittsburgh)

Elsewhere

All PA Republican Congressmen Back House Resolution That Democrats Say Threatens Medicaid and Other Benefits. “The House resolution does not specifically mention cutting Medicaid or Medicare but sets spending levels to require $880 million in cuts to an area of the next budget dominated by spending on both programs.” (WVIA)

VA Pauses Billions in Cuts Lauded By Musk As Lawmakers and Veterans Decry Loss Of Critical Care. “The Associated Press has obtained the full list of 875 affected contracts, which shows the cuts would affect everything from cancer care to the ability to assess toxic exposure. The list underscores how the Trump administration’s approach to broad spending reductions has immediate and potentially unintended consequences, generating significant concern not just among Democrats but also Republican lawmakers.” (AP)

Uncertainty Remains For Programs in PA Impacted By Federal Funding Freeze, Despite Reversal. “Funding to purchase electric school buses is just one example of a program in Pennsylvania that was placed in jeopardy when President Donald Trump ordered a sweeping freeze in federal spending. Many of the programs that lost access to those dollars  were performing environmental and energy-based projects.” (Penn Capital-Star)

Trump, Republicans Push Tax Cuts That Helped Cost Them House Majority Last Time. “The last time Republicans controlled the White House, Senate and House, their major legislative accomplishment was a massive tax cut that increased the federal deficit by $2 trillion, gave most of its benefits to corporations and wealthy Americans and, studies showed, had little impact on economic growth.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

State

2. Will McClure Challenge Mackenzie For Lehigh Valley Congressional Seat?

“Could Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-07) have a challenger for reelection before he completes two months on the job?

The answer could come Thursday.” (PoliticsPA)

Elsewhere

PA Attorney General Addresses Federal Funding, Election Fraud, Hospital Mergers In Budget Hearing. “State Attorney General Dave Sunday gave insight on Wednesday into how he might navigate being a Republican serving alongside a Democratic governor and a divided legislature.” (PennLive)

Climate Change Could Cost PA Billions. This Lawmaker Says It’s Time to Get Ready. “Rep. Joe Webster, a Democrat from Montgomery County, said he is sponsoring a resolution to study the climate crisis, which is projected to cost the Keystone State billions by 2040.” (USA Today Network)

Pennsylvania’s Earned Income Tax Credit Gets Another Look. “There are 32 states, red and blue, who offer some version of an Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Pennsylvania isn’t one of them. ” (The Center Square)

Trump’s Cuts to Federal Cybersecurity Agency CISA Leave Election Officials Worried. “The agency partnered with state and local offices and helped combat misinformation. But under Trump, about 130 of its employees have been fired.” (Votebeat)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Agriculture Secretary: PA Prepared For Ongoing Bird Flu Response, Innovation Grants

“Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding defended Gov. Josh Shapiro’s commitment to agriculture during a budget hearing Wednesday amid Republican critiques of a proposed funding shift away from an emergency and preparedness fund and into an innovation grant program.” (Johnstown Tribune-Democrat)

Elsewhere

What You Need To Know About the Philly Business ‘Double Tax’ That Some City Leaders Are Trying to Kill. “The business income and receipts tax, or BIRT, is often criticized for having two separate tax components, with many businesses having to pay both.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Pittsburgh Advocates For the Unemployed Ask Pennsylvania Officials to Speed Up Appeals Process. “Pittsburgh-area advocates – some of whom waited nearly half a year to receive unemployment payments – say Harrisburg needs to speed up how it decides who deserves out-of-work pay benefits.” (WESA)

McGloin Explains Quitting Boston College Football Job Days After Resigning As Lackawanna County Commissioner. “Former Lackawanna County Commissioner Matt McGloin resigned from a football analyst job at Boston College he started this week after resigning as commissioner.He did not say if he would seek a return to the commissioner post.” (WVIA)

Delco DA Stollsteimer Enters Race for Court of Common Pleas. “Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, along with attorney Mike Power, received the Delaware County Democratic Committee’s endorsement Saturday as judicial candidates.” (DV Journal)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Hey, Harrisburg, It’s Time to be A Better Capital City! (John Baer)
• Do You See What the Trump Administration is Doing to Philadelphians? (Jenice Armstrong)
• Pittsburgh is Withering. The Region Needs a Strategy For Growth. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• The Party Independent Voters Favor Will Win. (The Fulcrum)
• The World is Grieving the Loss of America’s Moral Leadership. (Nenad Pejic)
• Pennsylvania Gets an A in Educational Funding and a D in Student Outcomes. (Beth Ann Rosica)
• Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Settlement Filing is Hard to Swallow. (Greensburg Tribune-Review)

1 Thing

5. A Billion People Are Watching Podcasts on YouTube Every Month

“Podcasts are unlikely to be a modern refuge for smooth talkers with a face for radio because, increasingly, “wherever you get your podcasts” means YouTube. More than 1 billion people watch podcast content on the video site each month, putting it well ahead of Spotify and Apple’s Podcasts app in the race to be the top podcast destination, according to Bloomberg.”

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