House Passes Spending Bill to Close Out 2015-16 Budget, Says Reed
HARRISBURG – Voting to keep Pennsylvania schools open, House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) today joined a bipartisan majority of his colleagues in passing a $30.031 billion supplemental spending bill to complete the 2015-16 state budget.
House Bill 1801 now heads to Gov. Tom Wolf for his consideration.
The governor vetoed more than $6 billion in funding for schools, universities, hospitals, corrections and agriculture from the General Assembly-approved budget in December. This legislation would restore much of that vital funding without any new or increased taxes.
Reed issued the following statement regarding passage of the bill:
“The House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, all worked together this week to put a balanced budget on the governor’s desk to close out the current fiscal year. Our spending plan would actually increase basic education funding by more than $200 million and boost higher education funding by 5 percent, without placing a heavier burden on taxpayers. The message is very clear – we are investing in education.
“We encourage the governor to sign the bill, or at least let it become law, to keep schools from closing. It will be wrong to force school closures. It is way past time to release the students, parents, teachers and administrators as budget hostages. This will finalize the 2015-16 budget, and then allow us to immediately get on with negotiating next year’s budget, hopefully in a much more timely fashion.
“We understand this budget does not reflect everything everybody wants. We would love to reform the liquor and pension systems. A lot of folks, including myself, want to do property tax reform. Obviously, the governor would like to do some things too. But we are three-quarters of the way through the fiscal year and time is of the essence – those issues can be considered immediately as part of next year’s budget negotiations. We need to ensure school districts across the Commonwealth have their full funding and are not in danger of closing.”
Representative Dave Reed, Majority Leader
62nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Stephen Miskin
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