How will federal cuts impact Virginia? A new GA committee will determine what’s what. What do we do in the meantime? (Part IV)

Read Part I for the background.


The first meeting of the Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions was held February 22. Two matters of substance, the current environment and possible impacts and budget implications for the state and localities, were on the agenda (docx). Local and regional organization reps made presentations:

  • Clark Mercer, Executive Director, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

  • Eric Scorsone, Executive Director, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service

  • Mitch Melis, Commissioner, Virginia Employment Commission

  • David Reynolds and Kim McKay, Legislative Fiscal Analysts, House Appropriations Committee

  • Joe Flores, Director of Fiscal Policy, Virginia Municipal League

The presentations are online: Impacts of the Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions, Emergency Committee on - Meeting: Saturday, February 22 at 10 am.


One-Third of State Spending is Supported by Federal Funding

The first media recap of the meeting, Video: First Meeting of Virginia “Emergency Committee” on Federal Workforce/Funding Cuts Finds a “Palpable Sense of Anxiety” Among Localities; Potential for Economic Hit Even Worse than During the “Height of COVID”, came out the day of the meeting. Two highlights:

  • “‘Economists report that the loss of one federal employee can negatively impact 1-2 additional jobs in the local economy.’ These job losses could also hurt local revenues from sales taxes, meals taxes and real estate taxes.”

  • “There are also issues with cuts to federal expenditures on defense, programs like SNAP and Medicaid, transportation formula adjustments, evironmental initiatives and DEIA programs, etc. Virginia could also be really hit hard by these cuts…as well as by a cessation (or even outflow) of immigration into the Commonwealth.”

Other media reports of the cuts generally and the committee and meeting are: