Real Solutions for Pennsylvanians’ Prosperity
Divided government may entertain people who watch the news, but it frustrates Pennsylvanians who desire solutions without bickering. We understand our constituents’ dissatisfaction with the budget impasse in Harrisburg and are committed to working toward solutions that benefit hard-working taxpayers who desire “government that works.”
If you understand your household budget, you can easily understand the state budget. In order to spend money, you have to figure out how to raise it. We both cannot spend money we do not have.
On June 1, the state House voted on the tax proposal offered by Gov. Tom Wolf. In order to fund his budget, he wanted to increase tax revenues by $5 billion through a 21 percent increase in the Personal Income Tax, a 10 percent increase in the sales tax rate, the imposition of a severance tax on the natural gas industry, and the expansion of sales tax to include items such as diapers, day care expenses, college textbooks and nursing home care.
The governor’s tax plan did not receive a single vote from Democrats or Republicans. The 0-193 defeat shows Pennsylvanians are unwilling to accept the increased taxes necessary to fund Wolf’s budget. He and his supporters labeled that vote a “gimmick;” however, an honest person must admit the real “gimmick” is the governor insisting on a budget which is based on a funding plan that failed unanimously.
Since then, we worked with our House and Senate colleagues to generate a responsible, balanced budget proposal that could actually receive enough votes to pass. On June 30, we fulfilled our constitutional obligation by passing
House Bill 1192, a no-tax-increase budget which funds all aspects of state government, and includes a $100 million increase for public schools. In fact, this bill sends record levels of funding to EVERY Pennsylvania school district.
Less than one hour after passage of House Bill 1192, Wolf did what no governor in over 40 years has done – veto an entire budget. Rather than enabling $30.2 billion in responsible funding for “government that works,” Wolf chose $0 and “government not working.” Human service agencies, school districts, counties and local governments are now waiting on the money they need to start the new fiscal year.
The governor claims his veto was due to inadequate funding; however, the budget we passed provided as much or more funding for 274 out of roughly 400 line items as Wolf had requested. He could have used his line item veto power to strike out only the portions with which he did not agree and sign the rest. Instead, Wolf left us with a crisis of solely his own making that did not have to happen.
Here are the facts - on June 1, the entire state House said no to Wolf’s tax increases. On June 30, one man – Governor Wolf - unnecessarily said no to an entire budget that passed both chambers of the legislature, despite the fact that the majority of it agreed with his initial proposal.
As legislators, we are willing to make the difficult decisions necessary to provide real solutions for Pennsylvania. We have worked to generate and support viable proposals that can give us true “government that works.” We will continue to do so, and we call on Gov. Wolf to do the same.
Representative Matt Gabler
75th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepGabler.com /
Facebook.com/RepGabler
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com
Representative Tommy Sankey
73rdDistrict, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepSankey.com /
Facebook.com/RepSankey
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com