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Wolf Vetoes Parts of Budget, Okays Emergency Funding for Schools
Schools and some social services will receive some much needed relief now that Gov. Tom Wolf has agreed to release about $23.3 billion in emergency funding – or enough to back pay those services for the six months Pennsylvania has gone without a budget.
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But House Republicans revolted against the size of the spending and tax increase and on December 8 passed the $30.3 billion budget bill.
Senate GOP leaders chided the governor for creating a “crisis situation” that could have been avoided if he had vetoed line items instead of rejected entire budgets as he did with a similar GOP proposal when the fiscal year ended in June.
“I’m expressing the outrage that all of us should feel about the garbage the Republican legislative leaders have tried to dump on us”, Wolf said during a Tuesday morning news conference. “This budget is wrong for Pennsylvania”.
“They simply left town before finishing their job”, he said. Administration officials blame that on the Legislature for leaving for the holidays without passing the legislation necessary to fund them.
Wolf’s Budget Secretary Randy Albright said the $700 million that the governor vetoed including a half year’s budget for the Department of Corrections and medical assistance as well as all funding for “pet projects lawmakers inserted in the budget”.
“Republicans continue to refuse to adequately fund Pre-K through 12 education and their budget fails to fund over $305 million in school construction reimbursements”, continued Hanger in his statement. That budget contains an additional $377 million in education funding. But it does offer temporary relief from the funding delays that have forced borrowing, layoffs and service cuts.
The House GOP’s budget bill perpetuates what some call a decade of cuts to social services, squeezing programs and the wages of people who care for the elderly and disabled.
The House and Senate have no plans to return this week.
Republicans quickly cast the governor’s decision in a different light.
Ellis said it may be necessary to unhitch pension legislation from efforts to pass a budget.
The Legislature can vote to override the governor’s vetoes, each line-item veto, in a vote.
He could decide to sign it and end a 6-month-old budget stalemate about two months before he’ll have to lay out his plans for the coming year’s budget. He accused Wolf of making special interests his top priority.
“That compromise budget was in balance”.
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As a result, Senate Republicans pulled their support from the bipartisan deal with Wolf and turned to the House GOP’s spending plan.