Owlett Comments on Wolf’s Excessive Spending Plan
HARRISBURG – Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter) offered the following response to Gov. Tom Wolf’s final state budget address Tuesday. The governor is proposing a record $43.7 billion spending plan that represents a $6.2 billion, or 16.6%, increase over the current year.
“After years of work by House Republicans to get the state on firmer financial footing, the governor is seeking to squander it all in a single year. I can’t think of a more irresponsible way to ‘budget’ the taxpayers’ money. And I can’t think of a more selfish way for a man who is looking at his last year in office to try to erase his legacy of shutting down our schools, our employers and our Commonwealth.
“The governor’s proposal is nothing more than a fiscal fantasy. Rather than rely on the experts – the nonpartisan Independent Fiscal Office – to crunch the numbers, he has chosen his own numbers of unknown origin to sugarcoat reality. We are facing the highest rate of inflation in decades, and that will undoubtedly be followed by a period of recession. We will not be equipped to weather that recession if we buy into the governor’s voodoo math.
“Despite his comments to the contrary, our finances aren’t all rainbows and skittles. If we want to build a solid future for our Commonwealth, and spare our kids and their kids the burden of higher taxes, now is the time for fiscal restraint and reason.”
Watch additional comments by Rep. Owlett.
Owlett serves as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which will conduct a series of hearings to delve into the details of the budget over the next few weeks. A final budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year is due by June 30.