Feb. 09, 2022
HARRISBURG – While stressing that it is merely a starting point in the process, state Rep. Lynda Culver (R-Northumberland/Snyder) issued the following statement in reaction to Gov. Tom Wolf’s Tuesday budget proposal and his desire to substantially increase spending in the 2022-23 budget:
“Asking for a year-over-year spending increase of 16.6% is not only something I’ve never seen before but a request that is extremely aggressive on the governor’s part. It makes me nervous as a member of the General Assembly because we’re aware of how much money we have in reserves and what remains of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money. Also, the governor’s plan adds nothing to the Rainy Day Fund while increasing the pressure to spend what we have right now. In fact, we are lagging other states when it comes to how much money we have put aside for that day when it ‘rains hard’…and at that point, we would have no place to go but to the taxpayers.
“Economists forecast that a recession is inevitable, and the governor wants to increase the budget by more than $6 billion. That equates to $17 million per day in new state spending, something that is hard to imagine accomplishing without a tax increase.
“All that said, what the governor expressed Tuesday is a proposal. This is where my colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee and I come in by asking tough questions during the series of budget hearings that begin next week. Our job is to dig into the details of this plan and find out how would we pay for this, how much money do we really have to spend and how can we avoid a future that would require cuts in services and inevitable tax hikes.”
To view or download a broadcast-quality video of Culver’s statement, visit here.
Representative Lynda Schlegel Culver
108th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
Slittle@pahousegop.com
LyndaCulver.com /
Facebook.com/RepCulver