While he was pleased the House approved a state spending plan before the June 30 deadline, Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana) today voted against the budget bill, citing concerns with specifics within the overall agreement.

“I commend the legislative leaders and governor for working together to get a budget done within a reasonable timeframe,” Reed said.  “I think it’s important for the people of Pennsylvania to see that we can put our partisan differences aside and work to achieve common goals.  No state budget is perfect and no one gets everything they want.  In the end, this bill could have better reflected the priorities and needs of our Commonwealth.”

Reed specifically pointed to his concern over the use of $2.75 billion in federal stimulus funds to help balance this year’s state budget.  Those dollars are set to expire next year, leaving a significant hole in the state’s revenues and creating a possible deficit of $4 billion to $5 billion for next year’s budget.

“That’s a real concern for those of us who are committed to protecting taxpayers,” Reed said.  “The best case scenario would be for the economy to rebound and state revenues to increase.  However, if that doesn’t happen, lawmakers will have even more difficult choices next year.”

The $2.75 billion in stimulus funds includes $850 million that Congress has not yet approved.  If Congress does not approve the funding, the governor will be forced to cut another $850 million from the budget as early as the fall.

Reed also said he would have liked to see the budget reflect a realignment of state priorities.  Specifically, he pointed to significant funding cuts in agricultural programs, state parks, public libraries and a funding level he said “will leave the State System of Higher Education behind.”

The State System of Higher Education (SSHE) will be flat funded at the same $500 million level of support it received this year.  Funding for public libraries will be cut by $5.5 million to $54.5 million.  The Department of Agriculture will suffer a nearly $5 million cut.  Funding for state parks was reduced by nearly $4 million.

Reed would have preferred to see commonsense welfare reforms implemented to save money, which could have been reallocated to these other areas. 

While hundreds of millions of dollars in savings through the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse have been identified by several independent sources, none of those welfare reforms were included in the budget agreement.

“There was a missed opportunity to bring some cost-saving reforms to the state’s welfare system,” Reed said.  “I am hopeful we can still look at implementing some of those before the session ends later this year.  Every dollar we save through reduced welfare fraud is another dollar we can use to protect our environment, invest in our libraries, educate our children and reduce the cost for our taxpayers.”

Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to sign the budget into law later today.

Rep. Dave Reed

62nd District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

(717) 705-7173

www.RepDaveReed.net

Contact: Dan Massing

House Republican Public Relations

 (717) 772-9845

www.pahousegop.com