Diamond: Governor’s Speech Disconnected from Reality
HARRISBURG – Following Gov. Tom Wolf’s annual budget address today at the Capitol, Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) issued the following statement:
“Hearing the governor’s speech, I couldn’t help but wonder if Wolf wasn’t suffering from amnesia. First, it appears he forgot he was supposed to give a budget address. Instead of talking about his budget plans, he launched into a finger-wagging insult fest.
“He seems to have conveniently forgotten that he is the one responsible for vetoing funding for education and human services. Trust me, there is enough blame for last year’s budget impasse to go around, but the governor came into the chamber and put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of House Republicans, calling them out by name. Why?
“Well, the governor’s also apparently forgotten that Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly were against the billions in tax hikes he proposed last year. Amazingly, he just proposed a new $2.7 billion tax increase in his new budget plan for this year. Guess who stopped his massive tax increases last year: That’s right, House Republicans.
“Wolf made it clear that, rather than working with the Legislature this year for commonsense solutions to balancing the budget, he’s going to engage in partisan warfare. This should concern any Pennsylvanian worried about our schools, human services programs and seniors receiving the funding they need. His tone doesn’t bode well for an on-time budget this year – perhaps the biggest disappointment of all.”
Representative Russ Diamond
102nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Ryan Travis, 717.260.6335
rtravis@pahousegop.com
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