Wolf vetoes part of budget, OKs school cash
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf speaks with members of the media Tuesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Wolf says he is rejecting parts of a $30.3 billion state budget plan that’s already a record six months overdue, but he’s freeing up over $23 billion in emergency funding.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf arrives for a news conference Tuesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Wolf says he is rejecting parts of a $30.3 billion state budget plan that’s already a record six months overdue, but he’s freeing up over $23 billion in emergency funding.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf walks from the podium at a news conference Tuesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Wolf says he is rejecting parts of a $30.3 billion state budget plan that’s already a record six months overdue, but he’s freeing up over $23 billion in emergency funding.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf speaks with members of the media Tuesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Wolf says he is rejecting parts of a $30.3 billion state budget plan that’s already a record six months overdue, but he’s freeing up over $23 billion in emergency funding.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf speaks with members of the media Tuesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Wolf says he is rejecting parts of a $30.3 billion state budget plan that’s already a record six months overdue, but he’s freeing up over $23 billion in emergency funding.
HARRISBURG – A stern-faced Gov. Tom Wolf scolded Republican legislators Tuesday as he rejected parts of a $30.3 billion GOP plan for Pennsylvania’s budget but freed up money for schools, social services and county governments that have been mired in a record six-month stalemate.
The Democrat said he released more than $23 billion, using his line-item veto power for the first time since he took office in January. Among the rejected items was a proposed increase in the Legislature’s appropriation.
At a Capitol news conference, Wolf said Republican lawmakers who “ran out of town” off for the year-end holidays needed to “get back to the work of the people.”
“In doing this, I’m expressing the outrage that all of us should feel about the garbage the Republican legislative leaders have tried to dump on us,” he said of his line item veto. “This budget is wrong for Pennsylvania. And our legislators – the folks we elected to serve us – need to own up to this. They need to do their jobs.”
To make ends meet during the budget standoff, social service agencies were forced to lay off employees, many state-subsidized pre-kindergarten programs closed their doors and many school districts faced the possibility that they would not reopen after the holidays or run out of money.
The vetoed bill resembles a GOP budget plan Wolf rejected on June 30. He said it would leave a budget hole of about $500 million in the year that ends June 30 and an additional $2 billion in the next fiscal year.
It contains about $500 million less than a deal Wolf had negotiated with Republican leaders, who scaled down that plan last week after a companion bill that aimed to reduce state pension costs stalled in the GOP-controlled House. That plan would require up to $1 billion in unspecified tax increases.
Senate Republican leaders planned a noon news conference to respond to Wolf’s announcement.
Wolf urged lawmakers to return to Harrisburg to reach a compromise.
“Let’s get back to work to finish the job you almost finished last week,” he said.
Rob Gleason, the state Republican chairman, said Tuesday that Wolf’s June veto of the budget “needlessly plunged our school districts and nonprofits into a six-month crisis.” He accused Wolf of making special interests his top priority.
“It is time for Tom Wolf to join with Republicans in enacting a fiscally responsible budget that puts our Commonwealth on the right track for the future,” Gleason said.