HARRISBURG – Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39), Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-41) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin (R-13) announced today that counties, school districts, hospitals and others would receive critical funding from the commonwealth immediately under a budget bill approved by the Senate.
The chamber also passed legislation to invest in transportation infrastructure and mass transit across the state without impacting the General Fund. The bill, which draws money primarily from the Public Transportation Trust Fund, would also improve safety and accountability at Pennsylvania’s mass transit systems, the leaders said.
“Today the Senate passed a responsible short-term budget that immediately releases funding for schools, nursing homes and human services while also advancing a comprehensive transportation plan that supports mass transit and roads. Our proposal exceeds Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan using only existing funds,” said Sen. Ward. “Pennsylvania is at a critical crossroads financially. Senate Republicans have put forward a solution that protects taxpayers, and Gov. Shapiro and House Democrats still have not answered what taxes they are willing to raise on Pennsylvanians.”
“We have been clear and unwavering in our stance that massive spending increases are not the answer for unleashing the promise of Pennsylvania,” said Sen. Pittman. In fact, our friends in the House couldn’t even lift the Governor’s full budget request, so that proposal is now a moot point. The House passed a $50.6 billion budget. Today the Senate Republican Majority has passed a $47.6 billion budget. In addition to a responsible budget, the Senate has approved substantial funding for transportation investments, by utilizing existing, and unused taxpayer dollars, coming in large part from the Public Transportation Trust Fund. There is a value in supporting both road projects and transit, and we have taken a substantial step to unleash those dollars to help all 67 counties across Pennsylvania.”
“Passing a no-growth, no-new-tax budget today that reduces the Commonwealth’s structural deficit will offer a lifeline to ensure our schools, counties, service providers, and others who rely on state funding are not impacted by disagreements in Harrisburg. This year’s budget process is very complicated with multiple issues that require a great deal of work to complete. That doesn’t mean our constituents should have to struggle while we work to finalize a deal,” said Sen. Martin. “On mass transit, tapping the Public Transportation Trust Fund instead of growing our structural deficit by giving away more of our General Fund revenue makes a lot of sense to ensure the accountability and safety reforms we are pursuing have a chance to work while we evaluate the true needs of our mass transit systems over the next two years. It is incredibly frustrating that the Shapiro Administration dragged their feet in giving us information about the fund for nearly two months and failed to identify this as a funding option sooner as mass transit systems across the state threatened service cuts.”
CONTACTS:
Erica Clayton Wright (Sen. Ward)
Kate Flessner (Sen. Pittman)
Jason Thompson (Sen. Martin)