PA budget framework deal reached
Gov. Rendell and legislative leaders reached agreement on a $28 billion state spending plan early this morning after hours of intense negotiations
PA budget framework deal reached
Gov. Rendell and legislative leaders reached agreement on a $28 billion state spending plan early this morning after hours of intense negotiations.
"We have the outline of an agreement," said Senate Majority leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware) emerging from talks at 2:20 a.m. Tuesday.
But Pileggi cautioned: "We are not finished. There is more work to do to tie down some of the details."
Pileggi said legislative leaders and the administration would focus on reaching a final deal for the 2010-2011 spending plan when talks resume at 9 a.m. He said the Senate would likely vote on the bill later on Tuesday, but that the state House would have to suspend the rules in order to have a budget to the governor's desk by the deadline of midnight June 30.
He said the final spending amount would be $28 billion "and some change" - a compromise between Rendell's $29 billion proposal and the $27.5 billion that Republicans sought.
Pileggi did not offer additional specifics about how to close the projected $1.5 billion deficit, but said the deal:
Anticipates federal Medicaid funding which is tied up in legislation that has yet to get the votes needed for passage in the U.S. Congress.
Would increase basic education funding.
Include an agreement on a new tax on the extraction of natural gas in the lucrative Marcellus Reserve.
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Deal or No Deal? When do we hear job cuts, no charity fundings, no school dollars, and taxes taxes taxes.— FJG JR- Typical politicians. Rather than plan for the very real possibility that they won't get the Medicaid dollars, they simply hope they will just to say they have an "agreement". Try running a business like that and you won't be in business for long.— erformc1
Harrisburg is a joke. Instead of borrowing from Washington to fund the Medicare gap, plan a budget as if it's not there and not coming...b/c the liklyhood is IT ISN'T!- I couldn't agree more....PA foolishly assumed that Congress would allow for the tolling of Interstate 80 as a source of revenue and we see where that got us....ONE BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!!!— Tasha
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Looks like "Fast Eddie" pouted and got his way. Now if he could just get rid of Ackerman and make Philadelphia schools safe for students to attend.— dogman5- So this is what a well run state looks like. Way to go, Gov. Rendell. Great to see we'll be investing in education. And you got the tax on the gas companies. Without question, the best govenor this state has had in the last 50 years. Oh, and Republicans, we know...Dems are tax and spend - even when they aren't.— MikeP
- MikeP - Republicans are tax and spend too...just they spend on endless foreign wars whereas Dems spend on entitlements and useless "dependant" social programs which ultimatly enslave people. Both Dems and Republians are to blame for this mess. Either way, it doesnt matter the Feds will not approve the Medicare funding anytime soon puting a $800M hole in the budget and Harrisburg will be forced to layoff nearly 20K people.
- This is a joke - they're like a bunch of dysfunctional spendaholics. Now they will blame the Feds when the budget blows up because the Feds won't pass the FMAP extender. Get ready to build some real Barns On The Parkway to house the cows & goats we will have to start raising to feed our children.— RR
- Mike P, get off the crack. Rendell has been a terrible governor and to say you have a budget depending on money you more than likely won't see is a disgrace. This is an election year and the tax and spend politicians in Washington are trying to pretend they are concerned about our Greece-like deficit. This country from the federal lever down to local governments have to rid themselves of public sector unions. They have more job security with higher pay and outrageously better benefits than people who do the same job in the private sector. So as unemployment continues to be a problem the private sector unions continue to get raises at the expense of hard working Americans. It's almost as if unions are anti-American these days.— ResponsibleAmerican
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- Why don't the UNION WORKERS have to suffer in this ecomony? I had to take a pay cut for me to stay employed. I think everone need to take a step back and look at why we are going broke??? We can not afford Union wages, pensions and benefits. I can only hope when Corbit becomes our republican Governor he does what Chrisie did in New Jersey and does not let the Unions control our state.— pipedream40
- So yet again the budget grows when everything else is falling apart...did they even notice the drop in the markets today that was driven mostly by consumer sentiment (meaning consumers are getting worried) and since they are at the heart of our economy will either push us further into growth or depression. And the PA budget only works if they get money from the Fed for Medicaid. Give me the budget and give me the power of complete control and I will establish the priorities for our citizens while holding corporate responsible for cleaning up after themselves. It's not bad enough that we give corporate a free infrastructure that they ruin and we pay to repair but every single cost of production is passed through to the consumer while the employees have been underpaid for the last 40 years which is why recessions/depressions are coming closer and closer together. Recession is just a fancy name for a degradation of peoples lifestyles or put differently people can non longer afford the same product that they use to buy due to eroded income or inflation. An inherent problem in capitalist societies where the goal is always to pay labor less.
- pipedream, that's a pipedream. Neither side wants to do anything. The unions need to be busted.I am sick and tired of hearing about the poor pensions,I won't be able to retire until I am 70 because we have to pay for union pensions that make up 13% of the work force.
