Aug. 13, 2025
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford/Fulton) made the following statement on recent action in the House on completing a state budget and funding mass transit in Pennsylvania:
“Discussions about how to conclude the current state budget impasse are completely devoid of reality and commonsense.
“House Democrats today had every opportunity to end dual crises for SEPTA and those relying on state funds for operation by passing the most fiscally responsible state budget plan we have seen to date, along with legislation that provides funds for mass transit and transportation.
“No solution is going to be perfect. But when SEPTA is offered funding and then proceeds to tell the House of Representatives that it will shut down operations because the funding solution is not perfect, it shows how disingenuous folks in this process have been about their real desire to avert calamity.
“As I said in the House chamber on Monday, the question we need to ask ourselves is if the process we are undertaking moves us closer to getting to a conclusion or further away. The failure to pass the state budget and transportation funding bills today only moves us further back while hurting the people of Pennsylvania who rely on state and mass transit services the most.”
Republican Leader Jesse Topper
78th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives