Gov. Wolf: Why I’m doing a line-item veto

Tuesday morning, Governor Tom Wolf vetoed parts of a budget sent to him by state lawmakers just before Christmas.

At a news conference at the Capitol in Harrisburg today, the Democrat said the Republican-backed proposal falls short and lawmakers “left town before they finished their job”.

With regard to schools, the governor is withholding the last six months of basic education funding as he continues to criticize the budget sent to him last week as “garbage the Republican legislative leaders have tried to dump on us”.

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The teacher’s union in Philadelphia – where the state’s largest school district said it will close January 29 without state aid – also urged Wolf to veto it.

But, the governor said he would allow emergency funding to go ahead for schools, counties and human service agencies affected by the impasse. But they said the state won’t be able to responsibly take on debt without fixing its structural deficit. He said no state government employee furloughs would be immediately necessary as was threatened last week when the House proposed passing a $28.2 billion stopgap budget but added “it depends on how soon the legislators get back to work”. That plan would require up to $1 billion in unspecified tax increases.

Wolf said he vetoed parts of the budget because Republicans did not pay for their spending and to ensure a more responsible budget, but he is taking action to ensure schools receive money owed to them through December 31.

“It’s imperative that we get back together”, said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, adding that he hopes to return to negotiations with Wolf in the “next day or two”. Wolf said the Republican proposal cut school spending by $95 million.

The ink in Gov. Tom Wolf’s pen could end up being worth billions of dollars to the state.

In that compromised bill, Republicans got cuts in taxes and spending. Kristen Rotz, the United Way of Pennsylvania’s president, called the budget a “lose-lose situation”.

Rob Gleason, the state Republican chairman, said Tuesday that Wolf’s June veto of the budget “needlessly plunged our school districts and nonprofits into a six-month crisis”. We need to pass the budget that the Senate and House passed – Senate Bill 1073.