Sep. 24, 2015
HARRISBURG – As a direct result of Gov. Tom Wolf’s total veto of the General Assembly’s budget plan back in June, several school districts and social service agencies around the state have reported they are now on the brink of severe financial struggles. With that in mind, area state Reps. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-Northumberland/Snyder) and Kurt A. Masser (R-Columbia/Montour/Northumberland) joined the majority of their House colleagues in voting in favor of allocating emergency funding to entities in need.
“It’s been nearly three months since the governor vetoed the budget,” Masser explained. “My colleagues and I in the House have heard the cries for help from around the state, and we have been working to get them the funding they deserve. The vote we cast today was in their favor. We have the money to send to them; we just need the governor to agree that they deserve to have it now.”
The funding includes state appropriations amounting to $11 billion, retroactively to July 1 and carrying through to Oct. 31. In addition to four months (or 33.3 percent) of state aid based on House Bill 1192’s levels (which are higher than the 2014-15 state budget), the emergency funding bill would allow $24.3 billion in federal dollars to reach their intended recipients, and PHEAA grants and county child welfare funding would be disbursed at 50 percent.
“We have entities in this state operating in emergency mode, which means they need the funding we voted in favor of releasing today as soon as possible,” Culver explained. “Some schools, agencies and programs cannot provide the services their clients or students depend on without crucial funding from the state. I am hopeful that the governor considers signing the legislation without delay.”
Culver and Masser agree that individuals who benefit from the services in jeopardy – including, but not limited to, students, senior citizens, veterans, victims of abuse, and individuals with disabilities – do not deserve to be negatively impacted as a result of the governor’s lack of action.
The General Assembly passed a balanced budget plan on June 30. The governor swiftly vowed to veto the plan, even though 274 out of 401 line items were greater than (or equal to) what he originally requested. The House came back to session in August to attempt to override some of the vetoes – only including line items all parties agreed on – but the House Democrats blocked the votes. House Republicans again voted in favor of funding these schools and agencies suffering from financial struggles by passing this plan today.
For more information on this, or any state-related issue, contact Culver’s Sunbury district office at 570-286-5885 or
LyndaCulver.com, or Masser’s district office in Elysburg at 570-648-8017, or at
RepMasser.com.
Representative Lynda Schlegel Culver
108th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
LyndaCulver.com /
Facebook.com/RepCulver
Representative Kurt Masser
107th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepMasser.com /
Facebook.com/RepMasser
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
kcorbin@pahousegop.com