Jul. 08, 2015
While I have much respect for my colleague, state Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery), I feel it is necessary to correct several inaccuracies in her recent commentary (Guest Opinion, July 7).
Contrary to her claim that the House and Senate did not consider the governor’s budget, the House in fact held an up-or-down vote on the governor’s tax plan in early June. That plan would have raised $12 billion in new taxes in the first two fiscal years to support a 16 percent increase in Harrisburg spending. Every House member – both Democrats and Republicans alike – voted against the governor’s plan, which failed by a unanimous 0-193 vote.
The message was clear: Not a single Democrat or Republican in the House is willing to pay for the governor’s massive spending increases on the backs of Pennsylvania’s hard-working families and taxpayers.
Despite the unanimous vote against his massive tax increases, the governor refused to back off any of his proposed taxes. House and Senate leadership agreed to forge ahead with a responsible and balanced budget that respects taxpayers by not raising taxes or creating new ones, while at the same time increasing funding for education at every level.
The budget increased basic education funding by $100 million, increased higher education funding by $41 million, increased early childhood (or “pre-kindergarten”) education by $30 million, and increased special education by $20 million. Overall, the budget sent a record $10.6 billion to PreK-12 education, the most in Pennsylvania history. It also would have fully funded the state’s pension obligations.
Moreover, the budget was balanced. Rather than treating taxpayers’ wallets as open-ended accounts from which to generate revenue for increased state spending, my colleagues and I evaluated existing state programs and accounts in order to eliminate inefficiencies. Taxpayers want their representatives to ensure that the state is spending their hard-earned tax dollars wisely before deciding to increase their financial burdens, and that is exactly the type of fiscal stewardship reflected in the budget the governor vetoed.
In fact, roughly two-thirds (or 274 out of 401) of the line item appropriations in the balanced budget proposal that the governor vetoed provided the same or more state funding than he proposed in his budget.
The budget the governor vetoed also fully funded human services, while restoring funding to vital programs and services, such as hospital-based burn centers, neonatal services, critical access hospitals, diabetes programs, regional poison control centers, epilepsy support and bio-tech research – all of which the governor proposed to eliminate in his plan.
Rep. Dean correctly writes that Pennsylvanians want a balanced budget that invests in education, and that is exactly what the House and Senate delivered to the governor. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the governor vetoed.
I look forward to working with Rep. Dean, the governor and all of my colleagues in the General Assembly on a final budget agreement that moves Pennsylvania forward while respecting the Commonwealth’s taxpayers.
Representative Craig Staats
145th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jonathan Anzur
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