HARRISBURG — See you in September. Maybe even in October and November, too.

Big, unanswered questions in Pennsylvania's state budget agreement that began making its way toward Gov. Ed Rendell's desk on Wednesday seem sure to guarantee a protracted debate over the state's finances that drags well into the fall.

The deal — an assortment of bills that revolve around a $28 billion general appropriations bill — postpones decisions on how to tax the state's growing natural gas industry and how to respond if a huge chunk of federal funding falls through.

The Legislature approved an appropriations bill that relies on nearly $3 billion in federal stimulus aid, but uncertainty over whether all of that money will materialize prompted some "no" votes.

"We're supposed to have a balanced budget. We're required by our Constitution to have a balanced budget. No one can today assure us that that indeed is a fact," said one opponent, Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill.

In addition, an agreement to enact a tax by Oct. 1 on gas extraction from the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation is "a difficult proposition, at best," Argall said.

So far, Rendell and many other governors have been unable to persuade Congress to approve an extra $24 billion in aid for recession-wracked states. Pennsylvania's share would be $850 million.

In a news conference in Washington on Wednesday with several other governors, Rendell said he has discussed a contingency plan with legislative leaders should the federal aid fall short.

Under that plan, he would cut the $250 million increase he won for public school instruction and operations, plus another $350 million from social services.

Such cuts "would be disastrous for the state and its people," Rendell said.

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said supporters in Congress, including Casey, hope the aid package for states will resurface in July with enough support in the House and Senate to pass.

But if there is no guarantee from Congress in the next two weeks, Rendell would begin withholding money, forcing service cuts and layoffs, the Democratic governor said.

That worried several dozen disabled demonstrators in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday.

The demonstrators, who rely on taxpayer-paid assistance to live at home or in community homes, are already hearing about people leaving nursing homes and receiving fewer and fewer hours of aid for tasks such as getting out of bed each morning.

"We're here to fight for our lives," said Cassie James, a Philadelphian whose spina bifida forces her to use a wheelchair.