State Senate Proposal Restores $500 Million in Budget Cuts

Wednesday credited the strong voice of Pennsylvanians shortchanged in the with forcing the changes that were approved by the Senate, and urged citizens to continue the pressure.

“The more people looked at the original budget proposal the less it looked like a plan for job growth and support for working families,” Solobay said. “That message came through loud and clear and went a long way toward molding the budget that passed today. There’s still work to do, but we’ll be doing it with momentum.”

The $27.7 billion spending plan proposed by Senate Republicans Wednesday would restore $500 million of the shortsighted cuts proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett, but still leaves many working families without access to affordable child care or health insurance, Solobay said. 

The senator said he voted against the plan after majority Republicans rejected a series of Democratic amendments that would have used available revenue to restore additional amounts for adultBasic, human services, Accountability Block Grants and child care services.

“We need to boost employment, and cutting education and child care is not the way to do that,” Solobay said. “Employers in this region want a healthy, educated workforce to take the jobs that will be made available. We’re still far short of a budget that reflects those priorities.”

Rather than reflect fiscal constraint, Solobay said the budget cuts proposed by the Corbett administration deflect fiscal responsibility.

“It’s not cost containment when you simply force school districts and counties to make up the missing money,” Solobay said.  “We have a responsibility to educate our children, care for people with disabilities and provide safe nursing homes. Passing that down the line is nothing to brag about.”