Sep. 24, 2015
HARRISBURG – To help ensure that families in crisis, senior citizens, veterans and students who use vital services funded by state and federal subsidies continue receiving them, Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) today voted in favor of legislation to provide four months of emergency funding, retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1 and through Oct. 31.
“Our local human service agencies have been facing difficult decisions in the last several weeks, whether to curtail services, lay off personnel or close altogether, and our school districts are looking at their cash flow to see if they can continue to keep their doors open,” Pickett said. “The legislation we passed today would help give them the funding they are due in order to stay open, while major sticking points on a final budget agreement are being negotiated.”
Senate Bill 1000 and an accompanying bill to allow for the disbursement of funds include four months of state appropriations amounting to $11 billion, retroactively to July 1 and carrying through to Oct. 31. The funding amounts are based on levels included in the budget proposal passed by the General Assembly in June, which contained greater totals than the previous fiscal year.
In addition, the emergency funding bill allows $24.3 billion in federal dollars to reach their intended recipients, and PHEAA grants and county child welfare funds would be disbursed at 50 percent.
Pickett insists that the passage of these two bills does not diminish the urgency of passing a final state budget.
“Human services agencies that are serving the most vulnerable in our communities are suffering as a result of the governor’s full budget veto, brought on by his insistence upon $8 billion in new and increased taxes, and that’s shameful,” Pickett said. “Rather than using a line-item veto to ensure that these agencies could continue to receive their state funding and work on hammering out the major sticking points, this governor has chosen to extend the suffering. I am hopeful that he realizes the type of pain he’s inflicting on these agencies and signs this emergency funding bill.”
Representative Tina Pickett
110th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jennifer Keaton
(717) 705-2094
jkeaton@pahousegop.com
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