"Today, 24,000 workers were furloughed and will not be paid, but every person collecting a welfare check will be paid. That's more than a shame. It's a disgrace," said State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D., Northampton), who described the impasse as a tug-of-war over political leverage. "We should be the ones, along with the governor, to lose our jobs."
The budget impasse centered on differences between Rendell and Republicans, mainly those who control the state Senate. GOP members pushed for a budget that increases spending below the rate of inflation, while Rendell called for a pricier plan.
The governor had also insisted that the legislature pass several of his initiatives - from the statewide smoking ban to increased highway and mass-transit funding, and an energy-independence strategy with surcharges on electric bills - before he would sign any budget.
The surcharge proposal ran into the stiffest opposition from Republicans, who saw it as a new tax.
For much of Monday, it appeared there was little progress being made. In fact, the rift between Republicans and the administration appeared to widen at points.
State Sen. Mike Waugh ripped Rendell as a bully.
"This is not a budget impasse," said Waugh (R., York). "This is just a bully's tap dance, and the dance is being done on the backs of 25,000 unfortunate state employees."
Over the last several days, the administration had added initiatives to the mix in what GOP lawmakers had labeled "issue creep."
State Rep. John M. Perzel (R., Phila.), the former speaker of the House, said one item caught some negotiators off guard.
Administration officials had told legislators that the governor wanted to add a tax credit for film companies that produce movies in the state. Though the idea has been around for some time, it had not become part of the high-level talks until the last few days, Perzel said.
"Now we are holding up people's paychecks based on Hollywood," Perzel said. "I guess Tom Cruise and Barbra Streisand are important to the people of Pennsylvania."
On Monday, House leaders abruptly pulled the plug on a session but instructed the representatives that they might be needed to vote with as little as six hours' warning.
House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R., Jefferson) accused Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.) and the Democratic majority in the House of ending the session because they feared Republicans had the needed votes to pass a temporary spending plan. Such a stopgap measure would have call back the furloughed workers and ended the government shutdown.
Some, however called for cooler heads.
"Let's put down the swords, put down the sabres and get to the business at hand," said Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.).
Harrisburg - which had never seen a budget-related government shutdown before - had a distinctly different feel Monday.
The Capitol fountain, with its high-pressure bursts of water, was shut down. Lobbyists still worked the halls, but, with so many state employees at home, lunchtime lines at the Capitol cafeteria were noticeably shorter.
With janitors among the furloughed, restrooms went unattended, and ash trays and waste bins overflowed.
Richard Jennings, a longtime state custodian, was among those with an unwanted day off.
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