With Governor Wolf, Pennsylvania Senate Republicans and Democrats, and Pennsylvania House Democrats on the same page, the House Republicans are the lone roadblock in finalizing this year’s budget. Governor Wolf, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, and editorial pages across the state agree: it’s time for the House Republicans to do their jobs and fund the budget that they passed.
Here’s what they’re saying:
Governor Tom Wolf
“‘I think there are a lot of adults in the room in Harrisburg, and some of the folks on the House Republican leadership ought to get their act together and finish the job,’ Wolf said Tuesday during an appearance on KDKA-AM radio in Pittsburgh.” [AP, 8/23/17]
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati
“‘I have a lot of people in this building that walk around with all of these great ideas…where’s your bill? Show me your bill. Did you offer an amendment to the budget? Did you engage in this process?’ he asked rhetorically. ‘You get 26 votes there, 102 there and it goes, but you just can’t sit back and roll grenades in the room and say there’s $3 billion in savings.’” [City and State, 8/21/17]
The Times-Tribune
“State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale did not identify who “is not getting paid if this is not fixed,” as he lamented last week the failure of the state Legislature to pass a state budget, which is now nearly two months late. Given that the fault lies primarily with the Republican majority of the state House, it should be relatively easy to identify whose checks should not be cut. Under House Speaker Mike Turzai’s lack of leadership, the House has remained on vacation ever since it passed the $32 billion spending half of the state budget in a farcical attempt to make it appear that it had met the budget deadline.” [The Times-Tribune, 8/22/17]
Erie Times-News
“We’d like to say House GOP leaders have been working since then to resolve differences with Senate GOP leaders, but we can’t. House lawmakers decamped Harrisburg for a six-week vacation and are not due back officially until Sept. 11, though there have been reports that they might resume their jobs late this month….At this late stage, this process should not be an ideological exercise, but a practical one. The cost of inaction is too high to Pennsylvanians and the state’s good standing. Get back to work.” [Erie Times-News, 8/17/17]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Last week, with nothing new coming from the House, state Treasurer Joe Torsella advanced the General Fund a $750 million line of credit so bills could continue to paid through Aug. 28. He did so after his warnings about a coming cash-flow crunch largely fell on deaf ears. In advancing the loan, Mr. Torsella issued a new warning — ‘we will face an even more difficult problem within weeks’ — that also has failed to rouse the House to action.” [PIttsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/11/17]