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Jubelirer Says Lawsuit Challenging Vetoes is Justified;
Affirms Commitment to Women's Health Services
HARRISBURG -- Sen.
Robert C. Jubelirer's (R-30) prepared statement:
The
lawsuit challenging Governor Rendell's veto of language contained in the
2005-2006 state budget is defending some very important principles of policy and
governance, and we intend to see it through to a determination by the courts.
The power of the General
Assembly to define appropriate uses of funding is a critical element in
achieving passage of a state budget.
The critics misstate the
purposes of the lawsuit and misunderstand the long-term implications of letting
the Governor's vetoes go unchallenged.
The lawsuit in no way attempts
to deny women's health services the funding badly needed. I have been
instrumental in adding state funding to provide essential services such as
cervical cancer screening, and my commitment to these services has not changed.
A central fact in this debate is
that Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly oppose the use of tax dollars to support
abortions, whether state or federal funds are involved. The restrictions that
Governor Rendell vetoed in July mirror those contained in a succession of state
budgets, and have not imperiled women's health services. While the critics
cavalierly contend that the budget language creates an irremediable problem in
securing federal funds, that is far from a universally held view.
Representative Frankel and the
other legislators who persist in aggressively attacking the lawsuit should
devote their time to explaining why they voted in July for the budget language
they find so objectionable in October.
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