Dec. 11, 2015
HARRISBURG – Seeking to expand options for legislators to consider and demonstrating that a fiscally sound budget that doesn’t increase the burden on taxpayers can be crafted, Rep. Rick Saccone (R-Allegheny/Washington) has announced that he will introduce his own proposal to end the months-long budget impasse.
Called the “Taxpayer Preferred Budget,” Saccone’s measure represents a middle ground between the budget passed last year and proposals currently on the table. The proposal’s $29.7 billion spend number is $500 million less the $30.2 billion package passed this week by the House, yet allocates $530 million more over last year’s figures.
“The Taxpayer Preferred Budget is proof that we can balance the budget and fund state services without any tax increases, let alone the massive tax hikes proposed by the governor,” said Saccone. “Pennsylvanians are suffering under an enormous tax burden and cannot afford to pay more. The governor began this year’s process by proposing to tax our hard-working citizens $5 billion more. The ‘compromise’ he’s now presented is to tax us $1.2 billion more. He’s launched nothing less than a war on taxpayers, and it must come to an end. My proposal would do just that, stopping his tax increases dead in their tracks.”
Under the Saccone proposal, Basic Education Funding would increase by $50 million, while Head Start and Pre-K programs would also receive a boost. It would offset the costs of these increases with spending cuts, something taxpayers have called on Saccone and other lawmakers to enact.
“The point of this bill is not to denigrate other proposals my colleagues in the Legislature have introduced,” said Saccone. “Rather, its purpose is to expand the universe of options for legislators to consider and to demonstrate that we can get this job done in a way that doesn’t raise taxes on the folks we represent.”
Saccone added, “Sometimes budget proposals are presented as being either-or or take-it-or-leave- it. That simply isn’t true. All 203 of us elected to the House have a voice and a role to play in the process. I believe the more ideas we bring to the table, the better it will be for everyone – especially the taxpayer.”
For more information, please visit
RepSaccone.com or
Facebook.com/RepSaccone.
Representative Rick Saccone
39th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Ryan Travis, 717.260.6335
rtravis@pahousegop.com
RepSaccone.com /
Facebook.com/RepSaccone