Sep. 13, 2017
HARRISBURG – Reps. Matt Dowling (R-Fayette/Somerset) and Ryan Warner (R-Fayette/Westmoreland) issued the following statement after the state House approved a bill to complete funding for the 2017-18 state budget:
“Having voted against the $32 billion in spending included in the budget passed in June, we do not feel that we are part of the state budget problem. However, we were elected to be part of a responsible solution, and today we had the opportunity to take an important step in that direction.
“The House has approved a fiscally conservative revenue package that fills the $1.5 billion hole the governor left us in at the end of the last fiscal year, and provides revenue needed to balance the current year’s plan. The revenue streams in the bill we supported include:
- $1 billion in a lump sum by selling a portion of the Tobacco Settlement Funding stream.
- $630 million in special fund transfers.
- $225 million in gaming proceeds.
- $50 million in additional PA Liquor Control Board transfers (which will go along with future reforms).
- $20 million from legislative reserve funds.
“The other revenue option was the Senate-approved plan which would have included nearly $600 million in new taxes, many of which would fall on the natural gas industry. A gross receipts tax on natural gas, which would impact both home and business heating bills, would be reinstated at a rate of 5.7 percent. The plan also called for borrowing more than $1 billion that future generations would have to repay.
“The programs from which money is being transferred under the House plan are fully funded in this year’s budget. And while the transfers may have some short-term impacts on those funds, the impact is far less burdensome for taxpayers than the Senate plan, which would have resulted in an additional $180 in taxes for a family of four.
“Cutting spending would have been the best solution to balance the budget. However, the plan adopted by the House makes the most of the tax dollars we have available to balance the budget without asking the taxpayers of today and future generations for more of their hard-earned money.”
Representative Matthew Dowling
51st Legislative District
Representative Ryan Warner
52nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact (Dowling): Patricia Hippler, 717.772.9846
Media Contact (Warner): Tracy Polovick, 717.260.6358
phippler@pahousegop.com