(The Center Square) – There was a lot of talk at the state Capitol on Wednesday about a frustrating milestone: 100 days without a spending plan and no deal in sight.
Instead, the Democrat majority House of Representatives marked up the Republican majority Senate’s stopgap budget, passed in its chamber two months ago, by $2.7 billion. Leaders say it’s the least that can be done after the Senate sent them a “copy and paste” plan of last year’s budget that would not cover the natural rise in annual program costs, such as those seen with Medicaid.
“Let me tell you what that actually means,” said Rep. Jordan Harris, the Philadelphia Democrat who leads the House Appropriations Committee in what has been long considered one of the most influential chairmanships in the chamber. “That means they were willing to defund our police. That means they were willing to defund our schools. That means they were willing to defund our health care system in Pennsylvania.
“Because here’s the thing. Just like you all sitting at home, you have an increase in your gas, your electric, you have an increase in your bills at home. The same way you have an increase, so does the state.”
Not so fast, say Senate Republicans. The state’s $7 billion emergency savings account nor its $11 billion reserve fund can’t be raided to cover the bills year after year, so raising taxes or generating more revenue is the only way to balance the checkbook. Possibilities, like collecting taxes on skill games and recreational marijuana, which would cover less than half of the gap, haven’t found enough votes in their chamber either.
“None of this is because we didn’t want to do anything,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Greensburg. “It’s because their numbers have been so high.”
Flanked by fellow Republicans, she added that House Democrats obfuscating the reality of what their spending plan would mean in the coming years.
“Well, you might not be using those words, but when you are spending that much more than what we are bringing in, you’re calling for a tax increase,” she said.
The federal shutdown makes the situation even more precarious, leaving no time for political posturing, leaders said. In the short term, the upper chamber passed a bill that will give the treasurer the power to offer no-interest loans to counties, early education programs and rape crisis and domestic violence centers running low on funds.
Seth Grove, a budget hawk among House Republicans, said a six-month plan made sense, given the extenuating circumstances of state and federal budget lapses.
“In my lifetime, I do not recall the state getting hit with that double whammy,” he said on the House floor. “We are at zero and we will be at zero until people get in a room and have discussions.
“Half your funding gets you more time to negotiate and less pressure, less dire consequences … hostages are still there for more negotiation, but at least services will still continue and we can continue those negotiations behind closed doors at the budget table.”
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, at a press conference early in the evening, said his proposals would lower corporate business taxes and leave the emergency savings account untouched as he looked toward $11 billion in reserve funds instead. He declined to get more specific about other bargaining chips, however.
“Me speaking about the individual conversations I’m having with leaders is not helpful to getting that process done,” he said. “What is helpful is for the Senate to get its act together, get back to work and pass a budget.”
And in that vein, Senate Democrats said they’d offer 23 votes in the upper chamber to support the House’s latest proposal – meaning only three Republicans would have to defect to get it to Shapiro’s desk.
“They continue to finger point, yet the state House passed a budget today and Senate Democrats are ready to vote to end this unnecessary impasse,” Democratic leaders said in a statement. “What have they done? It’s far past time to put the people first.”
The House doesn’t return to session until Oct. 27, while the Senate remains on a 24-hour call.
