Oct. 05, 2017
HARRISBURG — Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny) today issued the following statement in response to Gov. Tom Wolf’s Wednesday budget press conference:
“On Wednesday, the governor blamed the House Republican Caucus for not passing the many taxes for which he has continually sought. He added that he believes the House Republican Caucus wants to see him fail more than see the state succeed.
“His remarks are totally off base. We all want to see the Commonwealth succeed, grow and thrive. His temper tantrum does nothing but prove his complete lack of understanding of his position and interest in governing. He is the one who needs to stop playing games and get to work. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I have been in Harrisburg a lot over the summer looking for ways to solve last year’s problem caused by Gov. Wolf’s $1.5 billion in overspending and this year’s $700 million revenue shortfall. The House Republicans have been actively engaged all summer developing proposals and ideas to solve this problem and to suggest otherwise is a complete fabrication of reality.
“In April so we could avoid another budget impasse, the House Republican Caucus passed a budget that relied on gaming and further liquor privatization and sent it to the Senate, which waited until the last week of June to take up the proposal. Last month, we approved another revenue plan. This one again put the people first by not increasing taxes or borrowing money. The plan worked on this week was only about $100 million short on a $2.2 billion revenue plan, but because it did not contain the major tax increase the governor was looking for, he decided to hold a press conference and play games, the very same thing he accused the House Republicans of doing.
“Throughout this budget process, the governor has largely been absent. He has not been engaged on a day-to-day basis. Instead, he has been traveling the state touting his accomplishments to keep his job. Yesterday, he announced he was going to securitize the state’s liquor system. Recent reports suggest the system lost more than $100 million last year. Why did the governor not propose this plan months ago before the state’s credit was downgraded? Why wasn’t the Legislature made aware of this idea, which was clearly developed over a period of time? This idea ensures the state stores will essentially never be privatized, which is something so many Pennsylvanians want to see.
“It was very disheartening to learn that three days after the state’s credit had been downgraded the treasurer and governor started to again make state payments, which they had originally frozen. These payments can be viewed online through the Treasury Department’s website, which is open for anyone to view. Did the governor and treasurer play politics and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in interest for refusing to pay the state’s bills as a political tactic for the budget?
“While I want to put this budget to bed as much as anyone else, I will not balance the state’s finances on the backs of the hard-working taxpayers of this state. Constituents are always telling me the government takes enough of their money. I will not unduly burden our residents or businesses to satisfy the governor’s insatiable thirst for money.”
The 46th Legislative District includes Collier and South Fayette townships and Bridgeville, Heidelberg, McDonald and Oakdale boroughs in Allegheny County. It also encompasses Canton, Cecil, Mt. Pleasant, Robinson and Smith townships and Burgettstown, McDonald and Midway boroughs in Washington County.
Representative Jason Ortitay
46th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Tracy Polovick
717.260.6358
tpolovick@pahousegop.com
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