Board: Somerset County monitoring federal funding review; no impact on county government yet
SOMERSET, Pa. – Like fellow counties statewide, a large percentage of Somerset County's $64 million budget relies on federal allocations.
It adds up to approximately $7 million in 2025, Somerset's commissioners said.
But with the nation now one month into a series of federal funding review orders by President Donald Trump's administration, Somerset's board said the county agencies that rely on federal funds have not yet noticed any changes.
Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes said much of the federal funds are tied to human services – such as Children & Youth Services programs to protect children, Head Start and Area Agency on Aging programs – that counties must provide by government mandate.
'We're keeping our finger on the pulse of ... what's happening right now. And as of now, we're not aware of any (routine) drawdowns (in regards to those services) that have been put on hold,' she said.
In simpler terms, federally supported programs were continuing to operate and cover their costs as usual this week, the board said.
'Business as usual is a good thing right now,' President Commissioner Brian Fochtman said.
County officials across all 50 states have also been monitoring how $42 billion in Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment funds could be impacted. The initiative was largely dedicated to improving high speed reliability in rural areas.
Tokar-Ickes said county partner Tableland Services, which oversees weatherization programs and certain housing assistance programs for Somerset County residents, is also supported by federal funds – and counties are also aware the Trump administration is also taking a national-level look at those funds.
'We're not aware of any changes (as of Tuesday),' she said.
For now, those agencies are using federal dollars that were already contractually approved, she said.
'We don't know what the future will bring,' Tokar-Ickes added, speaking generally about the potential for nationwide cuts to various federal initiatives in the future. 'The question marks are still there.'
Cambria County commissioners were out of the office Wednesday and did not return messages for comment. But staff forwarded a previous late January statement indicating Cambria officials were taking steps necessary to ensure any county-obligated federal funds were pulled down to the county level to prior to the Jan. 28 freeze date to 'ensure services continue.'
Another question mark remains with the 2025 federal budget.
The most recent stopgap expires March 14 and lawmakers in Congress and the Senate are still working on a budget that would authorize a new round of federal spending.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson was able to win enough Republican support to pass a budget blueprint through the U.S. House late Tuesday that could now see Senate review. As described, the bill would extend tax breaks that are otherwise on pace to expire and raise the U.S. debt limit by $4 trillion. Democrats say it could also mean cuts to the Medicaid program designed to support low-income Americans and those on disability.
Evening meeting plannedThe Somerset County commissioners' first evening meeting of 2025 will be held March 11.
Somerset County's board will meet in the Commissioners Office meeting room, which is part of the county office building on 300 N. Center Ave.
The commissioners board has scheduled several evening meetings throughout the spring and summer across the county to encourage public participation and awareness of government operations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
10 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Unsubstantiated 'chemtrail' conspiracy theories lead to legislation proposed in US statehouses
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As Louisiana Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates stood before her colleagues in the state's Legislature she warned that the bill she was presenting might 'seem strange' or even crazy. Some lawmakers laughed with disbelief and others listened intently, as Coates described situations that are often noted in discussions of 'chemtrails' — a decades-old conspiracy theory that posits the white lines left behind by aircraft in the sky are releasing chemicals for any number of reasons, some of them nefarious. As she urged lawmakers to ban the unsubstantiated practice, she told skeptics to 'start looking up' at the sky. 'I'm really worried about what is going on above us and what is happening, and we as Louisiana citizens did not give anyone the right to do this above us,' the Republican said. Louisiana is the latest state taking inspiration from a wide-ranging conspiratorial narrative, mixing it with facts, to create legislation. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a similar measure into law last year and one in Florida has passed both the House and the Senate. More than a dozen other states, from New York to Arizona, have introduced their own legislation. Such bills being crafted is indicative of how misinformation is moving beyond the online world and into public policy. Elevating unsubstantiated theories or outright falsehoods into the legislative arena not only erodes democratic processes, according to experts, it provides credibility where there is none and takes away resources from actual issues that need to be addressed. 'Every bill like this is kind of symbolic, or is introduced to appease a very vocal group, but it can still cause real harm by signaling that these conspiracies deserve this level of legal attention,' said Donnell Probst, interim executive director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. Louisiana's bill, which is awaiting Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's signature, prohibits anyone from 'intentionally' injecting, releasing, applying or dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere with the purpose of affecting the 'temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight.' It also requires the Department of Environmental Quality to collect reports from anyone who believes they have observed such activities. While some lawmakers have targeted real weather modification techniques that are not widespread or still in their infancy, others have pointed to dubious evidence to support legislation. Discussion about weather control and banning 'chemtrails' has been hoisted into the spotlight by high-profile political officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Recently, Marla Maples, the ex-wife of President Donald Trump, spoke in support of Florida's legislation. She said she was motivated to 'start digging' after seeing a rise in Alzheimer's. Asked jokingly by a Democratic state senator if she knew anyone in the federal government who could help on the issue, Maples smiled and said, 'I sure do.' Chemtrails vs. contrails Chemtrail conspiracy theories, which have been widely debunked and include a myriad of claims, are not new. The publication of a 1996 Air Force report on the possible future benefits of weather modification is often cited as an early driver of the narrative. Some say that evidence of the claims is happening right before the publics' eyes, alleging that the white streaks stretching behind aircrafts reveal chemicals being spread in the air, for everything from climate manipulation to mind control. Ken Leppert, an associate professor of atmospheric science at the University of Louisiana Monroe, said the streaks are actually primarily composed of water and that there is 'no malicious intent behind' the thin clouds. He says the streaks are formed as exhaust is emitted from aircrafts, when the humidity is high and air temperature is low, and that ship engines produce the same phenomenon. A fact sheet about contrails, published by multiple government agencies including NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, explains that the streaks left behind by planes do not pose health risks to humans. However, the trails, which have been produced since the earliest days of jet aviation, do impact the cloudiness of Earth's atmosphere and can therefore affect atmospheric temperature and climate. Scientists have overwhelmingly agreed that data or evidence cited as proof of chemtrails 'could be explained through other factors, including well-understood physics and chemistry associated with aircraft contrails and atmospheric aerosols,' according to a 2016 survey published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. In the survey of 77 chemists and geochemists, 76 said they were not aware of evidence proving the existence of a secret large-scale atmospheric program. 'It's pure myth and conspiracy,' Leppert said. Cloud seeding While many of the arguments lawmakers have used to support the chemtrails narrative are not based in fact, others misrepresent actual scientific endeavors, such as cloud seeding; a process by which an artificial material — usually silver iodide — is used to induce precipitation or to clear fog. 'It's maybe really weak control of the weather, but it's not like we're going to move this cloud here, move this hurricane here, or anything like that,' Leppert said. Parker Cardwell, an employee of a California-based cloud seeding company called Rainmaker, testified before lawmakers in Louisiana and asked that an amendment be made to the legislation to avoid impacts to the industry. The practice is an imprecise undertaking with mixed results that isn't widely used, especially in Louisiana, which has significant natural rainfall. According to Louisiana's Department of Agriculture and Forestry, a cloud seeding permit or license has never been issued in the state. Geoengineering While presenting Louisiana's bill last week, Coates said her research found charts and graphics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on spraying the air with heavy metals to reflect sunlight back into space to cool the Earth. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with support from NOAA, to develop an initial governance framework and research plan related to solar radiation modification, or SRM. A resulting report, which Coates holds up in the House session, focuses on possible future actions and does not reflect decisions that had already been made. SRM 'refers to deliberate, large-scale actions intended to decrease global average surface temperatures by increasing the reflection of sunlight away from the Earth,' according to NOAA. It is a type of geoengineering. Research into the viability of many methods and potential unintended consequences is ongoing, but none have actually been deployed. Taking focus In recent years, misinformation and conspiratorial narratives have become more common during the debates and committee testimonies that are a part of Louisiana's lawmaking process. And while legislators say Louisiana's new bill doesn't really have teeth, opponents say it still takes away time and focus from important work and more pressing topics. State Rep. Denise Marcelle, a Democrat who opposed Louisiana's bill, pointed to other issues ailing the state, which has some of the highest incarceration, poverty, crime, and maternal mortality rates. 'I just feel like we owe the people of Louisiana much more than to be talking about things that I don't see and that aren't real,' she said. ___ Associated Press writers Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, and Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this story.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's First Words at Kennedy Center Dinner Were a Diss
President Donald Trump kicked off a Monday dinner for the Kennedy Center board with a dig at their own organization. 'What a group of good friends,' Trump said of Kennedy Center's leadership as he took the podium at the White House event. 'We're gonna bring this place back. It's not so good. I thought it was gonna be beautiful.' The president appeared to be recounting his visit to the legendary arts hub in March, when he lamented that it was in 'tremendous disrepair' and went on a litany of everything he wanted to see changed, from the decor to the seats. The Kennedy Center has been one of many tense battlegrounds in Trump's bid to remake the federal government in his image. In February, he fired the institution's board members to name himself chair and install high-profile MAGA figures such as Laura Ingraham and Richard Grenell. 'The Kennedy Center was in dire shape,' Trump told the new board on Monday. 'It's been neglected very badly, and it needs an infusion of different things, including probably funds. But I think we're going to do very well when we get some money from Congress to fix it, because it's so important.' The president accused Kennedy Center's previous leadership of wasting millions of dollars on 'rampant political propaganda, DEI, and inappropriate shows.' 'Who thinks of these ideas?' he asked, drawing laughter from the crowd. 'It's different. We're bringing our country back so fast.' Trump, a longtime Broadway fan, earlier identified his favorites, including Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, as examples of 'non-woke' shows that he wanted to promote. The Kennedy Center's new lineup, unveiled Monday, includes The Outsiders, Spamalot, Back to the Future, and Moulin Rouge. Chicago and Mrs. Doubtfire, shows that feature characters usually played by a man crossdressing as a woman, will also be coming to the arts institution, despite Trump's earlier comments criticizing the Kennedy Center for having 'featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth.' Trump touted that the Kennedy Center has so far balanced its budget, 'eliminated DEI initiatives in all cases, brought back family-friendly programming that will attract large audiences once again, and launched a plan to renovate the building and reclaim the grandeur as a landmark really a Washington landmark—which it always was.'
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chinese consumer prices continue to fall as US trade talks loom
Chinese consumer prices fell for the fourth straight month in May, data showed Monday, as the world's second biggest economy struggles with sluggish spending and global trade turmoil. Beijing has failed to boost sluggish domestic consumption since the end of the pandemic, threatening official growth targets and complicating its ability to shield its economy from US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz. Representatives from the two countries are expected to meet on Monday in London for more high-stakes trade talks being closely watched for signs of a lasting deal on reducing levies. China's consumer price index -- a key measure of inflation -- dropped 0.1 percent year on year in May, according to statistics published Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The reading was unchanged from April but slightly better than the 0.2 percent fall forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. While deflation suggests the cost of goods is falling, it poses a threat to the broader economy as consumers tend to postpone purchases under such conditions, hoping for further reductions. A lack of demand can then force companies to cut production, freeze hiring or lay off workers, while potentially also having to discount existing stocks -- dampening profitability even as costs remain the same. "China continues to face persistent deflationary pressure," Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note, adding that Beijing "needs to rely on domestic demand to fight the deflation". Zhang said exports continued to perform well and support the economy, while warning that they will "probably slow as the frontloading fades out" -- a reference to overseas buyers increasing shipments ahead of potentially higher tariffs. Trade figures for last month due later on Monday will also shed light on how the country's exporters are faring. Deepening a slump that has now lasted more than two years, factory gate prices also dropped in May, the NBS said Monday. The producer price index declined 3.3 percent, accelerating from a 2.7 percent drop in April, and faster than the 3.2 percent estimated in the Bloomberg survey. The China-US talks in London will mark the second round of formal negotiations between the world's two largest economies since Trump launched his global trade blitz in April. The first round of talks was held in mid-May in Geneva and saw them pause sky-high tariffs but fail to reach a sweeping trade deal. The latest negotiations are expected to include Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They were announced after a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which the US president described as "very good". pfc/oho/dan
