Rapp: Rushed Budget Plan Amounts to ‘Hurry Up and Wait’
HARRISBURG —Yesterday, House Democrats pushed through
House Bill 1330, which is their spending plan for the Commonwealth for Fiscal Year 2025-26. Rep. Kathy L. Rapp (R-Warren/Crawford/Forest), issued the following statement in response:
“The details of this budget plan were not revealed until three hours before voting on it. That did not give us enough time to review an enormous amount of information about how the state plans to spend your tax dollars. This product was not even agreed to by Republicans or the governor. A budget plan without proper negotiation is just a waste of time.
“While there are parts of this plan I could support, I can’t vote on a budget before seeing the full picture. Even without seeing the details, this plan still spends more money than we’re bringing in. This budget is unsustainable without significant economic growth. When Gov. Shapiro came into office, the state had more than $13 billion in reserves. By the time this fiscal year ends, the number will be cut in half.
“So, to balance the books, we have three options. We could raise taxes, reduce the amount of spending or ramp up our economy. We can ramp up our economy by unleashing Pennsylvania’s energy potential, cutting down on government waste, fraud and abuse, and supporting a student-centered education. These are not new ideas. House Republicans have been fighting for these issues since the start of this budget process, but the plan House Democrats concocted doesn’t move the needle on any of these.
“Democrats keep talking about compromise, but Republican ideas don’t see the light of day in this plan. It’s highly unlikely the Senate will pass it in this form. While they rushed to get this bill to a vote yesterday, all this amounts to is a ‘hurry up and wait’ budget plan.”
Representative Kathy Rapp
65th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jake Gillespie
717.772.9834
RepRapp.com / Facebook.com/RepRapp