Virginia legislators hear more about impacts of move to reduce federal government

There is a lot of uncertainty over the push by the Trump administration to drastically shrink the size of the federal government through executive means alone. That’s affecting localities all across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“I have to tell you that there is a palpable sense of anxiety amongst local government officials about what the impacts are,” said Joe Flores, director of Virginia Municipal League.

Flores was the fourth speaker at the inaugural meeting of the House Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions. Speaker of the House Don Scott assembled the bipartisan committee to prepare for the effects of mass layoffs, dismissals, and other reductions in force.

Flores said the administration has been making additional announcements every day about the future of the federal government.

“Federal guidance on the funding freeze that was rolled out earlier this month and personnel actions have been unclear, contradictory and confusing, again making it difficult to begin to assess what the situation is,” Flores said.

Flores said the VML has been working with the groups like the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National League of Cities to share information to try to make sense of what is happening.

When you add up all of the federal funding that goes to Virginia’s cities, counties, and towns, 9.9 percent of their collective budgets come from the United States government. Some localities rely on a greater share such as the Town of Marion in Smyth County which in 2023 had 36.9 percent of its budget come from federal revenue. The Town of Bluefield is at 34.5 percent. Both are in the 9th Congressional District which is represented by Congressman Morgan Griffith.

As jobs are cut, local economies will be affected and Flores said that will have ripple effects on local taxes that localities use to pay for services. This will be felt more strongly in Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area. While there is a need to understand the full impact of federal cuts, Flores said state and local officials have to ask new questions.

“Can we afford at the local level to backfill some of the reductions that may come down? How many employees are we talking about and what resources do they have, maybe through VEC or other entities to assist them in a transition and hopefully they stay,” Flores said.

Flores also said local budgets may be much more conservative than usual as uncertainty takes hold. But he also said there are legal challenges to President Trump’s claims that the executive branch has sole authority.

“And in the meantime, it would really be helpful if the federal government indicates to us what grants are we talking about, how much?” Flores said. “If they’re frozen, how do we unfreeze them? One locality tells us that they were told that even though the federal grant was awarded to the town, that funding reimbursements were being withheld. We have heard this on a number of occasions.”

At least three other meetings of the House Emergency Committee are planned.

Legislative discussion

After Flores spoke, members of the Committee engaged in a roundtable discussion.

“I think it’s really critical that we get live data very quickly so that we know where we need to put the most effort forward,” said Ellen Campbell, a Republican who represents the 36th House District which includes portions of Augusta and Rockbridge counties as well as the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro.

Fellow Republican Anne Ferrell Tata of the 99th District also said she wanted more data.

“It would be nice to have sort of a point person or you know, on some of these websites, a place where people can go for up to date information,”Tata said. “So because, you know, we’re hearing things all over the place.”

Delegate Josh Thomas (D-93) represents Prince William County and he indicated what he would like to have more information on.

“Particularly interested in the housing and real estate space, what those reductions would look like in office and retail space, housing and then also the larger implications for the mortgage industry,” Thomas said. “I don’t think it’s lost on anyone that a couple economic calamities ago, massive foreclosures that ended up destabilizing the global economy.”

Thomas said he also wants reports on how transit will be affected as well as veterans health care.

Delegate Michael Feggans, a Democrat who represents the 97th District, said he wants work to be done to make it easier for federal employees to find new jobs.

“We need to look at, you know, significantly, potentially, you know, reducing the hiring process for these, our state agencies, you know, from months to weeks to days,” Feggans said. “For those that are super qualified, you know, fast tracking these public servants, you know, we have constituents right now, they’re hurting, they’re hurting, they’re scared and they’ve lost their job to no fault of their own.”

Delegate Vivian Watts, a Democrat representing the 14th District, is married to someone who served as a top attorney at one federal agency. She agreed that there is a lot of uncertainty and insecurity at the moment.

“I can assure you that it is not just financial insecurity that we are dealing with and that the issues that I am particularly concerned about is that right on the heels of the insecurity of COVID and what that did to our lives,” Watts said.

For instance, Watts said she is concerned that the number of suicides may increase.

Delegate Betina Anthony, a Democrat who represents the 92nd district, is most concerned about the impact on public education at all levels. Fewer workers in some areas could lead to drops in enrollment.

“All things where there’s a high concentration of federal workers that might see declining enrollment within certain schools,” Anthony said. “Also looking at higher education, especially with our land grant institutions, with agricultural research funding freezes, you know, what is the STEM research grants that are at risk, what are the climate research initiatives, what has been stalled already?”

Delegate Marcus Simon, a Democrat in District 13, said this is in part an attempt to reshape American government.

“If this is part of a larger movement to change the relationship between state and local and the federal government, if that’s something that’s going to persist, then we need to define what that relationship would look like and again, give us some policy options for how we pay for all that,” Simon said.

Delegate Joshua Cole is a Democrat who represents the 65th District. He initially noted he was the only member of the committee in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.

“I also noted that Spotsylvania county, where I represent, is in the top five counties that receives federal funding,” Cole said. “We are about to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony for a brand new VA hospital next week. And how these cuts are going to impact our veterans.”

The Fredericksburg Free Press reported that there is now a hiring freeze at the hospital, putting its opening date of March 3 in jeopardy. (read their story)

Delegate Hillary Kent, a Republican from the 67th District, pointed out her district is also within the 7th CD.

Another Republican on the committee questioned if the impacts would materialize and urged that the group avoid politics. Delegate Tony Hilt of the 34th District said the presentations had all been based on speculation.

“I think it’s important that we avoid theatrics, you know, trying to say things that aren’t there and using it for, I don’t know, whatever, campaign speeches or whatever,” said Delegate Tony Hilt. “ But we stick to the facts.”

Hilt said the presentations had been useful.

Delegate Rob Bloxom, the Republican vice chair of the committee, also echoed colleagues in his party who called for patience as actual policies develop, especially from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“If the federal government changes the rules, then we will have to adjust if you accept those rules and those are kind of set,” Bloxom said. “So, you know, we will. All this is in flux. We don’t know if they just cut funding across the board or if they’re going to change the rules or if they’re going to change the application. We really just don’t know yet.”

The next meeting of the emergency committee has not yet been scheduled.

Before you go: This post was originally published in the February 25, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter powered by Substack since July 2020. The idea is to get as many stories out as possible each day, and then some of the material ends up here. Sometimes stories are posted here first. All of this is an experiment powered by Town Crier Productions, currently a one-person company that seeks to be as prolific as possible.