Smith Supports Budget Deal Funding Schools, Retired Public Workers

July 13, 2026

HARRISBURG – State Rep. Brian Smith (R-Jefferson/Indiana) issued this statement following House passage of a General Appropriations bill for the 2026-27 fiscal year:

“This agreement spends less than $51 billion, a $1.8 billion increase over last year’s budget. While I still feel that spending is too high, the reality is that we operate in a divided Legislature. This product is the result of months of negotiating to find a compromise that works for Pennsylvania.

“This deal includes historic investments in education, providing additional resources for schools across Pennsylvania to support students and teachers.

“This budget also supports our retired public servants, providing a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the pensions of retired police officers and teachers. This investment recognizes the service and sacrifice of public employees whose retirement benefits have not kept pace with inflation.

“It’s important to keep in mind what this budget did not do, too. For example, House Democrats had been pushing to gut the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, which offers tax credits to eligible businesses contributing to a scholarship organization, an educational improvement organization and/or a pre-kindergarten scholarship organization. Through the negotiating process, we reached an agreement that no programmatic or funding changes will occur for EITC scholarships.

“This budget also avoids raiding the Rainy Day Fund. That money is meant for emergencies, not to balance irresponsible budgets.

“While I still believe the total amount of spending is too high, it’s important to remember that good policy decisions drive up revenue. We saw that become a reality during last year’s budget agreement when we dismantled the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). That decision, along with other policy victories, like lowering taxes to promote business growth, led to a substantial increase in state revenue over the last fiscal year. I’m confident that if we continue to keep government out of the way of our business community, we’ll continue to see economic growth that will allow us to stop the structural deficit.”

Representative Brian Smith
66th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jake Gillespie
717.772.9834
www.RepSmith.com/Facebook.com/RepBrianSmith