Failed Leadership Leads to Budget Impasse, Cook Says
HARRISBURG – Rep. Bud Cook (R-Greene/Washington) issued the following statement about the status of the 2023-24 state budget, which appears headed for a prolonged impasse:
For video of Rep. Cook’s comments, visit here.
“This isn’t about party. This is about performance and, most of all, the people.
“For the past six years since I’ve been here, we have had on-time budgets and balanced budgets.
“We’ve grown our Rainy Day Fund from just $300 million to $5 billion, all the while making record investments in education and supporting other core functions of government, including health care and public safety.
“We achieved all of this with a Republican Legislature and Democrat governor.
“We worked hard, engaged in honest negotiations and finished with a product that probably wasn’t perfect in anyone’s eyes. That’s what compromise means, and that’s how we work together to benefit the citizens in every corner of this Commonwealth.
“Historically, the budget process starts in the House, goes to the Senate, an agreement is reached among all parties and the budget goes over to the governor.
“Because Democrat leaders in the House – members of the governor’s own party! – did not get the job done, the Senate stepped in to get the process started and negotiated a deal with the governor.
“When the governor wasn’t able to get the people of his own party to support the deal he negotiated, he not only backed away from the deal but blamed the Senate for his own failures!
“I want to warn this governor to remember when he’s pointing the finger of blame, there are three fingers pointing back at him.
“The people of Pennsylvania deserve a governor who is a man of his word, who will negotiate in good faith and use his position as the state’s top executive to bridge our differences and bring us together for the benefit of our citizens and our communities. We are here to serve ‘We the People,’ not our own egos.”
Representative Bud Cook
50th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Patricia Hippler
717.772.9846
phippler@pahousegop.com
RepBudCook.com /
Facebook.com/RepBudCook