Bickering But No Budget

Budget Negotiations at the Capitol seem stalled, though the partisan sniping is in full form.
Governor Rendell says he’s compromised plenty, trimming his spending plan by two billion dollars and dropping a proposal to hike Pennsylvania’s personal income tax.
He says Republicans aren’t returning the favor.

"So far we’ve given, myself and the House and Senate Democrats, we’ve given, given, and given, and all they’ve done is take take take."

Not surprisingly, Senate Republican spokesman Erik Arneson has a different take.

"He likes to trumpet two billion dollars in cuts, but Governor Rendell is the only man in the world who can make two billion dollars in cuts and still want to spend a billion more than he did last year."

Appearing at the Capitol, Rendell said he’s open to any budget agreement, as long as it doesn’t cut spending on education, health care and services to the elderly, and it presents a balanced plan for the next two fiscal years.

Spending on Kids Causes Fight

Early education spending is becoming a flashpoint in the budget impasse. Pennsylvania Governor Rendell says he won’t retreat on early education spending even if it means childcare centers have to lay off staff or close their doors as they wait for a final budget. A state budget is now 7 weeks overdue.
Two line items in the Department of Public Welfare budget provide more than 300 million dollars in child care subsidies for low-income families.
Senate Republicans proposed trimming Rendell’s suggested spending on those lines by 17 million dollars, so the governor blue-lined the items, cutting off assistance for childcare centers across the Commonwealth.
Speaking at a rally outside the Capitol, Republican Representative Dan Moul, of Adams and Franklin Counties, said that decision is forcing facilities to close their doors.

"That means all those people that are not only employed by this community action program, but all the families that are destroyed by not having those programs available to them."

But appearing with Rendell, Jodi Askins, who heads the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, argued the short-term closures are worth it, if it means avoiding Republican cuts.

"Because in the end, what happens is people will have to pick between the kids they formerly used to serve."

She says the sacrifice is worth it, even if some families temporarily lose access.

Rendell Gives Budget Conference Committee a Deadline

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says if the 6-member House-Senate Conference Committee does not reach a budget agreement by Monday, he will ask the House to approve Senate Bill 850. That's the $27 billion Senate Republican budget plan...

“I intend to approve only the funds that are necessary for the operation of government services and for public safety. I will veto all other line item appropriations,” Governor Rendell said. “I do not consider Senate Bill 850 to be a budget; it is simply a bridge to allow us to pay state workers and ensure the continued efficient operation of state government -- nothing more.

Rendell says he can't approve SB 850 in its entirety because he believes the funding levels are insufficient for core state programs including public education, health care and economic development.

“I remain resolute in my commitment to enact a final budget that adequately funds programs that educate and support the children of this state, and continues to protect our older and disabled citizens, but in doing so I will not allow state employees to suffer any longer. They’ve done nothing wrong."

Rendell says state workers and their families should not have to undergo further financial stress. The governor says this is not a stopgap nor is a solution to the budget crisis but rather a bridge.

Rendell Requests Federal Reassessment of Storm Damage

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials will return to western Pennsylvania Thursday and Friday to reconsider the state’s plea for national assistance after two series of bad storms last month. Damage in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties will be reassessed, and the Governor also asked FEMA representatives to survey damage in Erie County a first time, after a record rainfall there.

Spokesman Maria Finn of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency says her department only gets assistance through the federal government, making a FEMA disaster declaration a necessity to help beleaguered homeowners. Finn says since the first assessment, many more citizens have stepped forth with damage reports. She says infrastructure probably wasn’t damaged enough to warrant a public grant, but property damage claims could be handled individually if FEMA reverses its denial of a major disaster declaration.

Finn says all damage reports help add to the state’s case, no matter how small. She says anyone with damage should immediately report it to their local emergency management agency, which they can find in the phone book.

Rendell Details $500 Million in Budget Cuts

In an effort to brush back criticism he's not serious about cutting state spending, Governor Rendell has provided details of the 500 million dollars he's chopping from his initial budget proposal.
Rendell He wants to reduce 182 line items, and eliminate 47 others.He says many of the cuts are programs he's proud of.

"Classrooms for the future-as you know, wildly successful. One of my initiatives, one of my favorite projects. All 22 million dollars. Services to non-public schools, ten and a half million dollars. Customized job training, 9 million dollars. Mental health services, eight and a half million dollars."

Rendell's proposal includes 13% cuts in funding for state-related schools: the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln; $45 million less in PHEAA grants for college students; and, elimination of state money for all museums including the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

Republican critics say they're not impressed, pointing out Rendell's spending plan is still more expensive than this year's budget.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, a Chester and Delaware County Republican, says the GOP will hold the line against increased spending and new taxes, even if budget negotiations drag on for several months.

Little Hope for An On-time Budget in PA

Any hope for an on-time state budget has all but vanished in Harrisburg. Now some lawmakers say they’d consider passing an emergency short term budget if negotiations drag deep into the summer.
With top Democrats calling for an income tax hike and Republicans vowing to shoot down any revenue increase, August 1st is beginning to sound like an optimistic prediction for when lawmakers will reach a spending agreement.
Governor Rendell says he’s committed to working around the clock to strike a deal, but insists new taxes will have to be part of the final arrangement. Rendell says he’d consider a stopgap budget if negotiations run too long, and state workers start missing paychecks.
House Minority Leader Sam Smith says he’s open to a temporary spending plan.

"They’re passing just a short-term budget that kind, just the basics that everybody agrees are critical functions. And that keeps the general services of government running."

Governor Rendell says Republicans who argue he hasn’t made any cuts are wrong.

"You go through any of the lines that we cut, and we’ll blindfold you, and you’ll just point to a line. And when we get to that line I’ll have you call the people who are losing the funds. And you ask them if there’s a cut. And you know what they’ll tell you? You’re darn right there’s been a cut. There’s a lot of pain in that two billion dollars."

A stopgap budget hasn’t been used in Harrisburg for more than 30 years, and Smith says it’s unlikely lawmakers will have to draft one this year.

Using Math & Science Pros to Teach

Math and science professionals may soon be able to teach in Pennsylvania, under a proposal from Governor Rendell.
He wants to provide such individuals with residency teaching certificates, which would allow them to enter the classroom before obtaining a full instructional degree.
Michael Race, with the state Department of Education, says the proposal would help offset a rising teacher shortage...
"We have an increased focus on math, science and engineering
as learning subjects and those are the jobs of the future, as it were.
But at the same time that we have an increased emphasis on math, science
and engineering course work, we're seeing a shortage of teachers in
those areas."

Race says Candidates must have at least a bachelor's degree and some work experience in their field.
"The core of what they need, which is that relevant knowledge and experience in the subject matter, is essentially built-in to these mid-career professionals. If you've been in a science or engineering field for five or ten years, you have a tremendous amount of applicable
knowledge that can be easily transferred into the classroom."

A residency certificate would be valid for three years. After that time, participants would need to complete their teaching certification. The proposal is awaiting action by lawmakers.

Rendell Cuts Half Billion From His Budget Plan

Governor Rendell has updated his budget proposal by adding more cuts to nearly every executive department’s spending plan. The release comes just a day after Rendell proposed a 16% increase in the state’s Earned Income Tax from 3.07% to 3.57%. During today’s emergency cabinet meeting, Governor Rendell told administration officials he wants to cut 212 million dollars in education spending, 106 million dollars from the Public Welfare budget, 3 million from parole and probation funding, and 43 million from the Department of Community and Economic Development, among other cuts. But Rendell says no matter how many cuts are put in place, taxes still need to go up this year. “I know a lot of people, unfortunately react ideologically and say ‘no taxes. No new taxes, ever. I’ll never vote for any new taxes.’ Well, how are we going to fulfill our Constitutional requirement? I mean, I’ll be happy to ask the four, any of the four caucuses to submit a budget that balances, and I’ll be happy to take a look at it.” Rendell says he’s not happy about his cuts, but they need to happen. He says the “Classrooms for the Future” program is one of his favorite initiatives, but its spending has been zeroed out. In all, Rendell trimmed 500 million dollars from his initial budget. Republicans point out his updated spending plan is still more expensive than this year’s budget, and say the governor isn’t serious about curbing government expenses. Rendell says he is still optimistic the June 30th budget deadline can be met, “We’ve got, as I’ve calculated, 15 working days. If we were here for ten hours a day, that’s a 150 hours of work. And I can’t imagine that we couldn’t get this resolved. So I want all of us prepared to be in Harrisburg 7 days a week until there is a budget.”

Fight brewing over .5% PIT Increase Proposal

Reaction to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s call for an income tax hike is falling along strict party lines. Rendell says increasing Pennsylvania’s personal income tax by a half-percentage point is the best way to bridge a $3.2 billion budget gap. Republican lawmakers disagree. House Minority Leader Sam Smith says raising tax rates would have a significant impact on Pennsylvania families. “To the people that are living on a household income of 40, 50 thousand dollars a year, that’s the difference between them being able to go on a family vacation, or keep their kids in Little League, or their pool membership, or whatever. Those are important things to average families.” Rendell wants to increase the rate to 3.57 percent, which amounts to an extra 250 dollars a year, or five dollars a week, for a person making 50-thousand dollars. Republicans are quick to point out that the additional .5% is a 16% increase of the existing earned income tax. The Governor insists the increase would only last for three years, but Smith and other Republicans say any tax hike would quickly become permanent. Smith says, “The nature of government is to spend what’s there, and once it’s being spent it’s hard to cut back. That is the unique characteristic of this budget debate. If you’ve ever going to get spending under control, this is the type of year that you need to move in that direction.” House Democratic leaders say they’re supporting the effort. House Appropriations Chair Dwight Evans, a Philadelphia Democrat, says, “I think that the gap is of such a nature that he had to do it. It’s a temporary tax, first, to protect our education, to protect investments in after school programs, arts, things of that nature. I think he had to do it. He had no choice.”

Pittsburgh Area GOP Senator Says "No" to Tax Hike

Pittsburgh area Republican State Senator Jane Orie is blasting Governor Ed Rendell's proposal to raise the state income tax from 3.07% to 3.57% for three years. Rendell says the state cannot balance the budget without additional revenues and severe spending cuts proposed by Senate Republicans will hurt education, job training and economic development in Pennsylvania.
Orie says the Republican budget passed by the GOP-controlled Senate is a good first step because it cuts $2 billion in spending "and there is more fat to cut." Orie said during these tough times the state should "fund core services till the economy bounces back" and that Rendell can't make the tough choices. She says her constituents are telling her "no tax increases."
Orie says the tax hike proposal is Rendell's modus operandi "wait till the last minute and create controversy, crisis and panic across Pennsylvania.......and that's unacceptable."

Rendell Proposes Income Tax Hike for 3 Years

Faced with a $3.2 billion budget deficit, Governor Ed Rendell is now calling for increasing the personal income tax from the current 3.07% to 3.57% for three years.
When Governor Rendell unveiled his budget in February, he proposed increased cigarette taxes, plus new levies on cigars and smokeless tobacco and also on gas drawn from the Marcellus shale formation, but not a broad-based tax hike.
Now the governor says there can be no balanced budget without increased revenues. He says boosting the income tax by a half percent would generate another $1.5 billion annually, and he wants to delay the phase out of the Capital Stock and Franchise tax.
Rendell says extreme budget cuts would damage the state’s education and economic development and job training programs…."we shouldn't balance the budget by eliminating more job opportunities or by shortchanging our children's future with drastic cuts to public education." The governor says if the state sharply curtails education funding then school districts would be forced to raise property taxes.
The income tax hike would mean a person making 50 thousand dollars a year would pay an additional 5 dollars a week. Rendell said that 4 out of 10 households would not be affected by the tax hike because they are senior citizens or make below the $32,000 minimum to pay the income tax. The governor says there are no good choices and the fairest plan is to spread the pain across the board.

State Announces Specific Stimulus Allocation

Secretary James Creedon, Chief Implementation Officer for the Pennsylvania Commission on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, addressed community leaders, nonprofit organizations, and foundation directors at a forum in the Heinz History Center today. He explained how $9.4 billion in stimulus package funding is being distributed and divided in Pennsylvania.

Creedon says the largest portion of stimulus money will go toward Medicaid. $4 billion dollars will go to this state program to free up money for other areas of governance. “It was a good, easy way to put money into an existing program, one that didn’t need to be created anew, one that the regulations were in place, the processes were in place, and the state could manage it very quickly and get that money and help them with the budget deficit we face in all 50 states,” says Creedon.

Education will receive $2.56 billion in stimulus cash, says Creedon. “Whether it’s Title 1, whether it’s Special Ed, or whether it’s idea funding, [the allocation] is also designed to help states stabilize their budgets a little bit,” says Creedon. “The governor’s proposal was to use that stabilization money to allow schools to do things differently, to invest in modernization, to invest in new curriculum, to invest in computer upgrades.” Creedon says Senate Republicans are opposed to this idea, preferring instead to cut state funding to education and use the stimulus dollars to fill in the gap.

Over $1 billion will go to state transportation projects, mainly highways and bridges. Creedon says mass transit and airports will be funded directly from the federal agencies, and rail investments will be done through a competitive grant program. Creedon says roadways and bridges are where the Rendell administration came more into play. “The governor said, ‘We’re not going to take that billion dollars and reduce what we would normally invest in highways by a billion dollars. We’re going to keep our investment at 1.8 [billion dollars] and we’re going to invest another billion dollars in highways and bridges,’” says Creedon. He says by Labor Day, every one of the transportation projects in the stimulus program will be under way.

Creedon says $258 million will be granted to the state over the next two years to work with 42 organizations to perform weatherization projects. “This isn’t redoing a bridge. This is putting new storm windows in a home,” says Creedon. In addition, $100 million will be used to invest in alternative energy sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energies. He says investment will probably begin in the summer, focusing mostly on wind energy.

Creedon adds that $23 million will be set aside for communities with under 35,000 people, for companies looking to make smaller investments. He says companies can be creative with their applications, but most are expected to address community “housekeeping” needs.

State Rep. To have Protest in Harrisburg

With Governor Ed Rendell trying to find a way to close the $3.2 billion deficit in the state budget, a state representative from Cranberry is making sure the Governor doesn't raise income taxes. Representative Daryl Metcalfe will be protesting the tax on Tues., June 9 at the Capitol. He says the governor should be finding ways to eliminate inefficiencies that are within the budget, such as unnecessary jobs and bureaucratic processes, instead of looking for ways to accommodate the deficit. Metcalfe says taxpayers need to be a priority, and they cannot take more tax hikes. He encourages concerned taxpayers to join him to support their rights to not be taxed any more.

Specter to Speak to Democrats

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter speaks to the Democratic State Committee this afternoon in Pittsburgh to try to win their support. Specter switched parties in April and announced he would run in the 2010 Democratic Primary for Senate. Some in the crowd today might be skeptical but Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says Specter has his full support and all the Senator has to do to convince other Democrats is to point to his record on issues that Democrats hold dear.
Rendell praised Specter last night at a fundraising dinner honoring the late Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll.

Pennsylvania Has First Swine Flu Death

The 55 year old woman who became Pennsylvania's first swin flu fatality had other health complications. Governor Ed Rendell says the Berks County woman who died Thursday night also suffered from diabetes and asthma. There are 361 confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu in Pennsylvania including a 27 year old man who is hospitalized in critical condition in Philadelphia. The governor says there is no need to panic....there are 2.4 million doses of anti-virals and they are very effective.
Rendell said if you are feeling sick and show symptoms of the flu you should see a doctor immediately and not go to work. The governor said while swine flu has faded from the daily headlines, it has not gone away.

Rendell and Casey Look to Grow Ties With Obama

"Yes We Did" was the theme of Pennsylvania Democrats' Inaugural celebration in Washington D.C. on the eve of the swearing in ceremony. Both Governor Ed Rendell and Senator Bob Casey voiced their high hopes for an Obama Administration. Gov. Rendell says Pennsylvania can claim a special role in electing Barack Obama. He says after all the resources the McCain campaign poured into the commonwealth, when it was called for Obama just after eight pm, he knew the Illinois Senator was headed to the White House. “He told me a couple weeks later that he knew at 8:06, too. So we think we were the ones that put Senator Obama over the top and we're real proud of that.” Rendell says he's hopeful that Pennsylvanians will benefit from the economic stimulus package Obama says he'll be pushing for upon being sworn in to office. Senator Casey agrees, and says the new president will have allies on Capitol Hill when that bill comes up for a vote. “I think there's a lot of unanimity across party lines to stimulate the economy. I think we'll have a lot of support for it.” Many analysts expect Casey to work closely with the Obama Administration. The two senators developed a close bond during the campaign and are said to often share a basketball court.

Lawmakers Balk over Rendell Hire

Republican lawmakers are criticizing Governor Rendell for appointing a former Democratic House member to a newly created state position while the state is in a hiring freeze. But the governor insists he did the right thing. Former state Representative Dan Surra lost a reelection bid in November, but now makes 95-thousand dollars a year promoting northern Pennsylvania tourism in a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources post. Cumberland County representative Glen Grell is one of six Republicans who have sent a letter to Rendell, asking him to respect his self-imposed hiring freeze and rescind the job. Grell says the appointment left him scratching his head. “I'm disappointed because for months I've been defending the governor and actually complementing him for being proactive and imposing the hiring freeze. And banning out of state travel and doing other things, like asking agencies to cut back.” But Rendell says he's allowed to make appointments, arguing Surra is filling a vital need in his new job. “I reserved the right when I announced the hiring freeze to make exceptions. We have made a number of exceptions. This is the first one for anybody who has held office.” Rendell says he didn't interview anyone else for the job or seek applications, but says he has the right to fill his administration with the people he feels will do the best job.

PA Allocates $38.5 Million in Railway Funds

Pennsylvania has handed out its yearly allocation of rail freight improvement grants this year totalling $38.5 million. Locally, U.S. Steel received $3.2 million to improve its system within the Mon Valley Works, and Allegheny Valley Railroad Company received $728,000. Allegheny Valley President Russ Peterson says the money will be used to rehabilitate a section of track which runs from Hazelwood and Bruceton through Baldwin, Pleasant Hills, and West Homestead.He says the funds will help complete a three-phrase repair project which included replacing drainage, ties, and resurfacing. He says without the money, the repairs would have taken much longer to complete. In all, 48 different railway companies across the state received money.

Westmoreland Sony Plant to Close

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has confirmed that the Sony plant in Westmorland County will be among those closed in the coming months. The plant’s 650 employees make flat panel televisions. Demand for those products has been weak in the faltering economy and the technology has started to move away from the type of screen made at the Mount Pleasant facility. Sony says it is trimming about 4% of its worldwide workforce. The governor says the closing is not immediate and workers will be eligible for state subsidized job training. Sony is expected to shutter the facility over then next 15 months. The company shifted about 800 jobs from the Mount Pleasant plant to a facility in Mexico last year and closed a glass making facility and warehouse in Hempfield in 2006. That move killed about 350 local jobs. Rendell says he already has two companies that may be interested in the Sony campus. One is said to be a renewable energy company.

Rendell says Clinton will concede soon

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says he thinks Senator Hillary Clinton will concede later this week. He says he does not think she will heed the call of some supporters that she suspend her campaign and then mount a fight on the floor of the convention in August. Rendell thinks Clinton is still the best nominee and he points to her victories in the last few months of the campaign including her ability to capture about 55-percent of the vote in the later primaries. However, he says she will now put her support behind Sen. Barack Obama and he thinks the same will be true of 90-95 percent of the democratic primary voters. To the Clinton supporters who say they will not vote for Obama, Rendell reminds them that the next president may name as many as three supreme court justices and that should not be left to Sen. John Mc Cain.