Some things cleared up, some things still blurry on federal bill impact in Virginia during Senate finance meeting

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- After a Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee meeting, there's more clarity on how the Trump Administration's "Big, Beautiful Bill" could impact you at home. But there are also still unknowns.

Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings said we won't know the full extent of the impact until the next budgeting process. But first, the bill has to pass the Senate. President Donald Trump is hoping that happens by July 4.

If it's passed, Virginia is already setting aside a chunk of cash for what Governor Glenn Youngkin called "near-term risks."

"Looking ahead, we are in a very solid position," Cummings said.

In a presentation of the state's financial status, Cummings said job growth is up in Virginia, unemployment outperforms the national average, and consumer spending has increased compared to last year. He also said a pause on tariffs and lower inflation rates have left people feeling more confident about the future of the economy.

"Is there anything out there that the administration is concerned about that could cause economic problems?" Democratic State Senator Scott Surovell asked during the presentation.   

"We wouldn't have done that if we were not concerned," Cummings said.

"That" being the $900 million set aside essentially as an emergency fund for unexpected impacts by the federal budget bill. The money set aside comes from 37 budget items Youngkin vetoed in May. It was originally part of the $1.3 billion surplus. Now the surplus is $400 million.

Republican and Democratic state senators pointed to very different reasons why the $900 million has to be set aside at all.

"We know that President Trump and Elon Musk have put some significant cuts to our federal workforce, and I'm wondering when we see the results of that?" Democratic State Senator Adam Ebbin said.

"That's exactly my point of over the next six months, all that information is going to be determined," Cummings responded. "When the federal budget process is taking place, we'll know more about federal jobs, we'll know about grants."

But State Senator Richard Stewart blames the previous administration under Joe Biden.

"Is that not attributable to the last four years and the highest inflation that we have seen probably since the Carter years?" Stewart said.

The bill will also impact low-income families across Virginia.

"Researchers and those [who] study safety net programs have said safety net programs have -- actually, have an economic positive impact," Democratic State Senator Barbara Favola said.

Safety net programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP). These programs would take the biggest hit.

The federal government would reduce funding for Medicaid expansion by 10% if the state offers full Medicaid to non-citizens. The LIEAP would be slashed entirely.

SNAP is covered by federal dollars, but if the budget is passed, Virginia would now have to cover up to 25% of the funding, depending on how well the state manages the program, possibly costing over $500 million a year.

"Those families are contributing to the economy and yet we're talking about, not Virginia, but the federal government, and that 'Big, Beautiful Bill' has got tremendous cuts in all of those safety net programs," Favola said.

Cummings said, as of last week, $461 million in federal grant money remains paused, and $350-400 million of that is expected to stay frozen. He said most of the funding is related to pandemic items, including more than half of it, $271 million, for Health and Human Resources. 

Cummings said the financial administration is actively working on freeing up $28 million tied to a technology project.

And due on July 1, higher education programs will have to provide the administration a detailed list of federal grants and their impacts for review.