House GOP’s turn to solve Pennsylvania budget stalemate after defeating bipartisan deal

Over the objections of Governor Wolf and Senate Republican leaders, House GOP leaders said Sunday they will vote this week on temporary “stopgap” funding as the state budget impasse grinds on.

Meanwhile, a Wolf ally in the Legislature said ongoing talks were aimed at getting a bipartisan budget deal through the House and around opposition by most members of the huge House Republican majority.

Along with Illinois, Pennsylvania is one of just two states still fighting over a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.

The House GOP is charging ahead anyway, positioning an 11-month interim budget for a final vote this week before the Christmas holiday. Wolf criticized it then as shortchanging public schools and using gimmicks to balance. Afterward, the state Senate majority leader said he wanted the House send over a 12-month budget with no tax increases, not a stopgap measure.

While congressional Democrats and the White House claimed victory last week for stalling Republican legislative efforts to cut funding for Planned Parenthood and dismantle the Affordable Care Act, Ryan said those issues will be atop the Republican Party’s agenda when the House returns from recess. Adolph was the only House GOP leader who responded to reporters’ questions. On Saturday, conservatives helped defeat pension legislation that Senate Republican leaders had tied to their support for the tax and spending package.

Rep. Kevin Schreiber said, “This does not make good on our commitment to our schools and county governments and ultimately it shortchanges the democratically negotiated process that we have engaged in over the last couple weeks”.

House Republicans haven’t given details about the amount or duration of the spending package.

Wolf’s office said Friday it had corralled enough support from Democrats and moderate Republicans to pass the tax legislation, over the opposition of House Republican leaders. “I will tell you this”.

Still, Minority Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) said Monday that he believed the Senate would not consider the bill, and Majority Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre) has also said he preferred to work toward a permanent resolution. Senate Republicans said they want a no-tax, bare-bones budget if it is not accompanied by the pension legislation. And even if the $28.1 billion measure did reach his desk, Wolf will veto it, the governor told the House Appropriations Committee in a letter.

“We were given it yesterday or the day before the bill came forward, and so this is not a way to run government”, added Paul.