Mar. 16, 2016
HARRISBURG—Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) today joined her colleagues to pass a supplemental budget bill to prevent layoffs and school closures across the Commonwealth.
“This supplemental budget bill not only restores funding vetoed by the governor in December, but it raises funding for basic education and does so without raising taxes,” White said.
In December of last year the General Assembly passed the 2015-2016 budget and then Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed more than $6 billion in funding from that budget.
“Since then, I have worked hard to get those vetoed funds back to our local schools, hospitals and the state’s universities,” White said. “The governor’s decision to veto and cut services in an attempt to squeeze tax increases out of the Legislature has very few supporters. This supplemental budget returns those funds to our schools without the tax hikes.
The supplemental budget includes an $872.6 million increase over the 2014-15 budget, yet spends within available revenues without relying on new taxes. Basic education will see $5.93 billion in funding, an increase of $200 million over 2014-15 when including the Ready-To-Learn Block Grant.
While the governor’s December vetoes cut tens-of-millions in funding for higher education, this supplemental budget bill reverses the Governor's vetoes for the benefit of our local families who utilize community colleges and the State System of Higher Education. It fully funds Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Lincoln University. This plan also provides a minimum 5 percent increase in funding for these institutions over what was provided in 2014-15.
The budget also restores funding for vital community assets like critical access hospitals, hospital-based burn centers and child advocacy centers.
Representative Martina White
170th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
RepWhite.com /
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