Governor Should Embrace Latest House Budget Effort for the Good of Pennsylvania, Ellis Says
HARRISBURG – On Wednesday, Rep. Brian Ellis (R-Butler) voted in favor of a budget measure to fund items which were cut by Gov. Tom Wolf as part of his Dec. 29 line-item vetoes, in order to keep Pennsylvania’s schools open and complete the 2015-16 state budget.
“This is the fourth time that the House has passed a sustainable budget plan for 2015-16,” Ellis explained. “The funding in this bill is generally targeted to our education, medical and agricultural communities, as they have all endured unnecessary funding cuts by the governor. It’s time for him to be a leader and to do what’s right for the people of Pennsylvania and accept this latest budget effort so that we can finally have a complete budget in place.”
Notably,
House Bill 1801 restores more than $3 billion in funding for basic education that was previously vetoed by the governor. The total state investment in basic education increases by $200 million over last year to a record $5.93 billion. Cuts to crucial agriculture, correction and health line items are also restored through this bill.
This budget plan spends $30.031 billion, which equates to a $872.6 million increase over 2014-15, about 3 percent. It spends $238 million less than House Bill 1460, the budget plan which the governor vetoed portions of in December. This plan spends within revenues that are available and does not rely on new taxes.
For more information about this legislation, or any other state-related issue, contact Ellis’ district office in Lyndora located at 6 Chesapeake St., Suite 200, by calling 724-283-5852. Information can also be found online at
RepEllis.com or
Facebook.com/RepEllis.
Representative Brian Ellis
11th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
kcorbin@pahousegop.com
RepEllis.com /
Facebook.com/RepEllis