A federal contract canceled earlier this year cuts funds for local farmers donating to food banks. A lawsuit has been filed. But Pennsylvania lawmakers are finding other ways to pressure the Trump administration into finishing out existing contracts— from bipartisan supports to new bill ideas.

Recently, the Democratic and Republican chairs of Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Committees sent a letter to the U.S. Congress— reiterating that there’s an obligation to finish out contracts that had money assigned to them by Congress.

“To cut this program was.. it was the hatchet. It wasn't the scalpel,” said Rep. Dan Moul, a Republican from the Gettysburg area. Moul is the Republican chair for the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

The Local Food Purchase Assistance program gives money to food banks to buy food from local farmers. Pennsylvania administered the program so funds only went to farmers in state.

Pennsylvania signed a contract to continue the program in December, 2024—set to get $13 million over three years. Then, in March of this year, the contract was terminated—leaving some farmers in the lurch.

“You don't just grow something overnight. It takes time. You got to plant. You got to process it,” said Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, the Democratic chair of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

The lawmakers and Governor Josh Shapiro, visited a recipient of the grant program earlier this week. Shapiro filed a lawsuit on this issue at the start of June.

“You know my track record—“ Shapiro told reporters, "We win these because the law is on our side. This was a contract with the good people of Pennsylvania, this was a clear three year contract. They broke it four months in. And I feel confident that we're going to get there at the end of the day."

Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D) of Erie says the food purchase situation is one example in a pattern of broken federal contracts.

“If we're not getting that money that was rightfully supposed to come back to the states, why should Pennsylvanians be sending money to D.C. In the first place?” Bizzarro said.

The representative has a bill that says if federal contracts are illegally breached-- the state could put liens on federal property. Additionally, the state could withhold federal taxes that Pennsylvania collects for the federal government.

“Until they restore our funding, that was already appropriated to us constitutionally by congress,” Bizzarro said.

The Erie rep clarified he supports rooting out waste fraud and abuse, but many of the canceled contracts were cut indiscriminately. For example, Bizzarro says Erie's Presque Isle State Park lost a $1 million deal with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to purchase sand for the beaches.

“People ask me, what are we doing to push back against this stuff? This is me pushing back,” Bizzarro said.

When asked what he thought of the idea, Moul— who signed his name to the letter to Congress— said he’d need to examine the legislation’s details… but that it sounded like the state picking a fight with “someone who has a bigger stick."