HARRISBURG – State Senator David G. Argall (R-29) today issued the following statement urging prompt action on a state budget that is now 38 days beyond the legal deadline.
“Governor Rendell’s recent action of vetoing much of the proposed budget approved by the House and Senate makes no sense to me at all. While he chose to veto money for the House and Senate’s daily operations, he approved the section of Senate Bill 850 that pays for the Governor’s office all to, as the Governor himself termed it, gain ‘leverage on the legislature.’
This debate should not be about playing power games, but on solving the problem at hand. During this process, the Governor has continually used state employees as pawns, all for a failed attempt at raising the Personal Income Tax.
The Governor also vetoed the funding for our public schools, our hospitals, our public libraries and many other important programs. Perhaps this is how he learned to play political games in Philadelphia, but I do not believe that he will be successful in blackmailing Representatives and Senators into voting for the tax increases which the Governor has continually demanded.
The Governor continues to advocate for a billion dollar increase in taxes to support more than a billion dollars in new spending. While I am pleased that our state employees are no longer being held as hostages by the Governor during this budget impasse, I remain deeply concerned that we do not have a state budget in place for this fiscal year. We need to pass a sustainable and bipartisan plan, one that will balance this year’s budget, so next year we’re not facing another crisis.”
Contact: Nick Troutman
(717) 787-2637