Lancaster County House GOP Delegation Votes to Put People First in PA Budget
9/14/2017
HARRISBURG – Last night, the House passed a responsible plan to pay for Gov. Tom Wolf’s spending deficit and to fund the 2017-18 budget without any tax increases or borrowing.
The Lancaster County Republican Delegation – State Reps. Bryan Cutler (R-Peach Bottom), Mindy Fee (R-Manheim), Keith J. Greiner (R-Upper Leacock), Dave Hickernell (R-West Donegal), Steve Mentzer (R-Lititz), Brett Miller (R-East Hempfield) and Dave Zimmerman (R-East Earl) – all voted in favor of the measure and issued the following statement:
“Beginning in February, the House Republican Caucus reviewed many of the unspent funds in the state budget to determine if any of that money could safely be reallocated to pay for the spending deficit. In fact, a large sum of money was discovered.
“The House Appropriations Committee and a separate rank-and-file member group worked diligently to produce a plan to use a portion of that money that would not compromise any programs. Because of the work done by many over a course of months, $600 million in unspent funds, in conjunction with some other measures, is included in the plan to close the deficit.
“The deficit, worsened by lagging revenue collections, could have been minimized if the governor heeded our encouragement to spend only what we have – rather than digging the state deeper in debt – by taking the prudent action of putting funds in our budgetary reserves.
“Statements made by the governor that important funding, like that for environmental stewardship, would be jeopardized remain unsupported by certified documentation. Not one service or program would be negatively impacted by the use of the proposed lapsed funds and dormant accounts. This is money already paid into the state that hasn’t been used in years.”
For more information on the 2017-18 budget, please visit pahousegop.com.
Lancaster County House Republican Delegation
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Evans
717.260.6206