County and municipal officials in Montgomery County are warning of impacts to local communities as the state and federal governments grapple with budgetary stalemates in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C.
The one-two punch has legislators unable to pass the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget nearly four months after the slated June 30 deadline. The federal government shutdown began Oct. 1 and is approaching the one-month mark as cuts to federal food and energy assistance loom this weekend.
“While the leaders of the PA Senate and the U.S. Congress have abdicated their responsibility to provide for the most vulnerable among us, Montgomery County is using every tool in our power to ensure our neighbors don’t go hungry or cold this winter,” Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairman Neil Makhija told MediaNews Group.
Makhija addressed the state and federal budget stalemates during a meeting earlier this month where he noted the county has spent around $33 million “thus far to keep our operation running and to cover the state’s bills” amid the ongoing impasse. Citing figures from Oct. 9, he added the county’s lost roughly $110,000 in interest income.
“We can’t keep spending forever without getting the funds that are needed from the state, and this has come at a cost,” Makhija said, urging his constituents to contact their legislators, “particularly the state Senate to ensure they pass a budget as soon as possible because this is costing us, and that also affects our ability to plan for the future and provide for our residents.”
Federal and state grants accounted for 34.6 percent of revenue drivers in Montgomery County’s 2025 budget, per budget documents. Federal and state grants accounted for 20.1 percent of general fund revenue as of July 31.
SNAP Cuts Loom
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are set to halt Saturday amid the federal government shutdown. There are around 85,000 people in Montgomery County experiencing food insecurity, according to 2023 figures from Feeding America, a roughly 66 percent increase calculated from 51,400 people in 2021.
Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians are “at risk of losing SNAP benefits,” according to Gov. Josh Shapiro, including some 62,871 people in Montgomery County.
Additionally, those hoping to participate in the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ 2025-26 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program will have to wait until Dec. 3 to apply, according to a state spokesperson, citing the federal government shutdown as the reason. Makhija estimated “nearly 6,800 families” could be impacted.
“Thousands of Montgomery County families are facing worsening crises this week due entirely to cynical politics being played by the federal government and the Pennsylvania Senate,” Makhija said in a statement to MediaNews Group.
“Months ago, the so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ drastically cut SNAP benefits and healthcare coverage for our neediest families to provide tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans,” he continued. “Now Congress’ refusal to do their job and end this government shutdown threatens to put the most basic needs of our neighbors at risk: food and heat for their homes.”
In addition, Democrats and Republicans continued clashing over whether or not to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies amid fears of possible hikes to insurance premiums. U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-4th Dist., warned in a town hall earlier this month that “millions of Americans will see their health care costs … more than double at the end of this year if Congress doesn’t act,” adding another layer of concern to area residents.
“It’s things that are definitely gonna hit them at the same time that we’re thinking about do we or do we not do a tax increase? So that’s I think something that we all have to weigh because we have a budget to balance, but also our families may not get SNAP assistance … and suddenly will be without money that they rely on to feed their family,” Smith said.
“If they’re participating in the ACA, their health insurance premiums might go up by 20 percent,” she continued. “So like real needs of families, and costs going up for our residents in ways because of the federal and state budget impact that I think it affects how we weigh the appropriateness of budget increases, tax increases.”
