Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Rep. Kenyatta, Policy Committee examine chaotic federal maneuvers

Rep. Kenyatta, Policy Committee examine chaotic federal maneuvers

State lawmakers highlight mistakes, slashing of federal resources

Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus    April 2, 2025 | 11:05 AM

HARRISBURG, April 2 – Veterans are no longer receiving the benefits they earned through their service to their country, and the status of $1.6 billion in Pennsylvania school funding is in jeopardy because of Republican leadership’s chaotic slashing of resources.

While the Trump administration cheers their haphazard firing of thousands of federal workers in Pennsylvania and across the nation, the truth is many of the workers had to be reinstated and rehired. The elimination of jobs has real-life consequences for thousands of households, but these haphazard measures also have devastating effects for everyday Pennsylvania citizens – from farmers to rural hospital workers to vacationing families – who depend on federal funding and resources.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who represents portions of Philadelphia, requested a House Majority Policy Committee hearing on the support needed for federal workers and the resources they provide to residents throughout Pennsylvania.

“Thousands of Pennsylvania workers have had their lives turned upside down, and the loss of the critical services they provide will have devastating consequences for Pennsylvania,” Kenyatta said. “DOGE continues to try and hide its many errors through dishonest and messaging about what it’s doing to eliminate ‘fraud.’ What they are really doing is trying to find any way to slide billionaires more tax cuts at the expense of working people.”

A recording of the hearing’s livestream can be found here.

“If you thought your property taxes were high before Trump took office, try imagining them after more than a billion dollars in federal funding has been stripped away from Pennsylvania schools,” said House Majority Policy Committee Chairman Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, who represents portions of Erie County. “The simple fact is the United States cannot afford to continue to hand out tax cuts for billionaires and their special interests, making America’s 99% suffer so the richest 1% get richer.”

In response to the federal layoffs, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order to help fill vacant state jobs with experienced federal employees who have in-demand skills. The order directed the Office of Administration to launch a new website with information about open state jobs that align closely with federal government positions. Since the creation of the website, more than 1,600 current and formal federal employees have submitted nearly 3,000 job applications. The executive order accepts federal work experience as equivalent to state experience for the state's top recruitment needs.

Wednesday’s House Majority Policy hearing featured testimony from Miranda Martin, the director of talent management at the Pennsylvania Office of Administration; Amanda Crawford, the director of the Bureau of Enterprise Recruitment at the Office of Administration; Philip Glover, the national vice president at District 3 of the American Federation of Government Employees.

Information about this hearing and other House Majority Policy Committee hearings can be found at pahouse.com/policy. Photos to be used for publication can be found at pahouse.com/PolicyCommittee/Galleries.