Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Fighting federal abusers, Protecting Pennsylvanians Act introduced

Fighting federal abusers, Protecting Pennsylvanians Act introduced

Reps. Bizzarro, Cephas announce state effort to fight illegal federal actions

Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus    June 30, 2025 | 11:51 AM

HARRISBURG, June 30 – A new bill circulating in the state House would safeguard Pennsylvania seniors, veterans, small businesses, farmers, universities, food banks and more. The Protect Pennsylvanians Act guards against unlawful overreach by the federal government when it strips funds designated for Pennsylvania.

Reps. Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie) and Morgan Cephas (D-Phila.) will be introducing the Protect Pennsylvanians Act to safeguard residents, and their privacy, from extremist Republicans in Washington, D.C., including the canceling of multi-million-dollar agreements. For instance, the termination of the three-year Pennsylvania Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) Program agreement, has $13 million in ramifications, including decreased critical revenue initially promised by the federal government for 189 Pennsylvania farms and 14 food banks.

“We can’t sit back and let this happen without a fight,” said Bizzarro, who represents Fairview and Millcreek townships in Erie County. “Pennsylvania House Democrats continue to use our majority to protect your health care, economy and right to vote. This act builds on that work with additional protections for working families who are being hurt by the DOGE disaster in D.C.”

The bill would allow the commonwealth to temporary stop payments to the federal government when federal funds designated for Pennsylvania are unlawfully withheld. It would permit liens to be placed on federal property until funds designated for Pennsylvania are restored.

“This act will increase our effort to protect Pennsylvania taxpayers from the haphazard actions and unlawful abuses at the federal level,” said Cephas, who represents portions of Philadelphia. “We can’t let Washington promise to fund and invest in health care, services and Pennsylvania businesses, only to have contracts canceled because of a change in administration and the extremist actions inside the D.C. Beltway.”  

DOGE maneuvers also include canceling more than 650 contracts with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and plans for a massive reduction in its workforce, sparking outrage over reduced care for veterans and disgust since more than 25% of its workforce previously served in the military. The are also reports DOGE used AI to make uninformed decisions to cancel contracts.

Bizzarro is the chairman of House Democratic Policy Committee and helped lead the House Democratic Leadership team during its statewide tour, Save Our Schools campaign to fairly fund Pennsylvania’s public schools. Cephas is the House majority chairwoman of the House Government Oversight Committee and the chairwoman of the Philadelphia House Delegation. She also serves as the co-chair on the PA Black Maternal Health Caucus, and she has been instrumental in supporting bills to improve the mortality rate and health care of expecting mothers and mothers throughout the state.