Oct. 25, 2018
HARRISBURG – Reps. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming/Union) and Jeff Wheeland (R-Lycoming) today issued the following statement after the announcement from Gov. Tom Wolf to veto
House Bill 83, which would have required the administration to repay new capital debt using a level principal payment plan.
“Yet again, Gov. Wolf has vetoed a commonsense, bipartisan solution to our state’s debt burden. This is a letdown for Pennsylvanians across the state, especially in Lycoming County, who are longing for our Commonwealth to be able to enjoy the fruits of the nation’s economic turnaround.
More taxes and more interest added onto our debt puts us further in the hole and does nothing to incentivize job creation and investment in Pennsylvania. If it took us less than 10 years to accumulate a 47 percent increase in our outstanding general obligation debt under the current repayment plan, we are doing something wrong. If we stay on this path of increasing the debt burden for every Pennsylvanian by $1,172, we will continue to witness a brain drain as more families will see their children leave their home state for a more prosperous future in the South.
Payrolls have risen to a record high as of September, but this is in spite of the governor’s fiscal policies. Our unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent, while the national rate is 3.7 percent. Why is that? Well, the Cato Institute gave Wolf an ‘F’ on its Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors. Over $800 million in tax increases have not helped Pennsylvanians, yet the governor continues to propose a severance tax and property taxes continue to rise.
Because of Wolf’s out-of-touch budgeting practices, our state is among the 10 worst for debt and unfunded pension liabilities, and it has one of the lowest credit ratings, according to Cato. This is a shame and it must stop. We will continue to do all we can to fight against this disfunction in Harrisburg that has been holding back the hard workers of this state for too long.”
Representative Garth D. Everett
84th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Basley
717.772.9843
abasley@pahousegop.com
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