By FORD TURNER

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday said he filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration in an attempt to get money he said Pennsylvania is owed for a federally funded program that buys food from local farmers to distribute to food banks.

Shapiro announced the filing of the lawsuit during an appearance in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Democraticcontrolled state House in Harrisburg took action on a high-profile issue that will affect the state budget they and Shapiro will try to finish by June 30 — reform of funding for cyber charter schools.

In Philadelphia, Shapiro said state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding tried for months to get the federal government to honor a contract worth $13 million over three years. The contract between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state Department of Agriculture, Shapiro said, was signed in December and essentially uses federal money to pay Pennsylvania farmers to produce food for hungry people.

‘This lawsuit calls on the USDA to simply honor its commitment to our farmers,’ Shapiro said. Referring to the contract, he said, ‘They illegally broke it.’

The Trump administration did not immediately provide comment on the filing. Redding stood with Shapiro during the appearance at the Share Food Program in Philadelphia. They said the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program — the program covered by the contract in dispute — puts money into 189 Pennsylvania farms and supplies 14 food banks with fresh food.

The federal money that comes from the program, Shapiro said, stays in Pennsylvania. It works as a ‘reimbursement program,’ meaning that the state must spend the money first and then get reimbursed by the USDA.

The confrontation began on March 7, Shapiro said, when the state got a notice from the Trump administration that said the program did not align with USDA priorities. The message, he said, indicated the money was being ‘ripped away’ from farmers who supply food banks.

Pennsylvania, he said, tried to follow an internal appeals process laid out by the federal government. Pursuing a resolution, Redding made a trip to Washington, D.C., Shapiro said, but none of the efforts resulted in a commitment to fund the full contract.

‘We have exhausted all options,’ Shapiro said. He added, ‘A deal is a deal. They made a deal with our farmers.’

Shapiro, a Democrat whose name has been floated for a 2028 White House bid, said he has a successful track record in filing lawsuits against the administration when it makes unjustified cuts to funding for Pennsylvania.

In the opening weeks of the Trump administration, large sums of money intended for Pennsylvania via various federal-state programs were frozen. Shapiro filed a lawsuit challenging the freeze, and he subsequently said $2.1 billion in federal funding that was either frozen or in some way blocked had been freed for distribution.

In Harrisburg, the state House voted 104-98 to give final approval to a package of cyber charter school reforms that included transparency measures, a standardized statewide tuition rate, and caps on cyber charter school fund balances. All Democrats voted in favor of the measure and were joined by Republican Reps. Tom Mehaffie of Dauphin County and Kathleen Tomlinson of Bucks County.

A recurring thread in the debate was a report issued earlier this year by Republican state Auditor General Tim DeFoor following an audit of cyber charter schools. DeFoor said his audit found ‘instances of the cyber charter schools legally using taxpayer dollars on things like staff bonuses, gift cards, vehicle payments and fuel stipends.’ DeFoor said one school — Commonwealth Charter Academy — spent $196 million to buy or renovate 21 buildings. That, DeFoor said, seemed ‘a bit out of the ordinary for a public school that is based in online instruction.’

Rep. Jesse Topper of Bedford County, the Republican minority leader in the House, spoke against the bill. He said significant reforms already were enacted and that ‘some of these students are the most vulnerable in our society right now.’

Democratic Rep. Matt Bradford of Montgomery County, the majority leader, spoke for the bill and said the ‘status quo is unacceptable.’ He said no one could say they were in favor of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government and then vote against the bill.

It now goes to the Senate for consideration.