Bill Goldsworthy Press Release HB2279

Bill Goldsworthy
For State Representative, 120th District


PRESS RELEASE
For more information: 570-237-1810


On March 23, 2010 the State House of Representatives passed HB2279, the General Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2010-2011. The price tag: $29 billion, a $1.2 billion increase over the current year. At the same time, Gov. Rendell is projecting a $525 million shortfall this year.

Because of last year’s budget debacle, lawmakers are trying to avoid the embarrassment of going 101 days without a budget by this early passage of a spending plan.

But doing it early is not the same as doing it responsibly. This is more of a spending plan than a budget. A budget requires a serious calculation of revenues and the common-sense approach of spending within one’s means – just like Pennsylvanians must do when they work on their own household and business budgets.

This $29 billion spending plan includes federal stimulus revenues of $2.76 billion. That’s a one-time gift. What happens next year? And the year after that? Relying on stimulus money to support future state budgets sets up Pennsylvanians for some serious financial problems. Once these funds are depleted, the state will be forced to deal with a multi-billion-dollar funding gap.

We all are aware of the looming state pension fiasco. Any responsible budget should address this problem by creating a reserve fund. It does not address the problem at all; lawmakers are just delaying the inevitable. Putting this issue on the backburner means an even bigger financial burden down the line for taxpayers.

So why did Phyllis Mundy vote for this $29 billion disaster? Does she think voting on a budget early makes up for doing so irresponsibly and without regard for the future?

Now more than ever, we need a responsible spending plan. We need lawmakers who are committed to representing the taxpayers and looking out for Pennsylvania citizens now and in the future. We need to bring spending under control and stop ignoring the looming pension crisis. It’s not going to go away just because we refuse to address it.

We need to avoid duplication of services and we need to eliminate per diems. We need elected officials who will work to lower taxes.

We need better than what we have right now. But most of all, we deserve better than what we are getting.