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Democrats reject Senate Bill 850
HARRISBURG, June 16 –
In early June, the House Appropriations Committee voted down the Republican budget (Senate Bill 850) because that proposal, based on 2005-06 spending levels, would have escalated the economic downturn that the state is experiencing. The vote was entirely along party lines with all Democrats voting to reject the spending plan.State Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila., had the following to say about the rejection of S.B. 850:
"Although I am not a member of the committee, I did attend the meeting, and I was very relieved to see this pernicious proposal killed. Had Senate Bill 850 passed, we would have risked losing an entire generation of Pennsylvania children. When our promise to adequately fund public education is broken, and services to children and at-risk youth are zeroed out, the harm to our children is incalculable.
"The proposal contained serious cuts
or the total elimination of programs that would have had a disastrous impact on the lives of ordinary Pennsylvanians including depriving them of whatever health care they may now have, curtailing the development of green jobs, severely truncating our support of the Commonwealth's highly successful tourism programs, and making law enforcement even more uncertain by eliminating necessary funding for our courts."Indeed, our future as a competitive state was gravely jeopardized.
"With President Obama so committed to health-care reform, securing our energy future, protecting our environment and investing in education for the future, I feel it is our responsibility in Harrisburg to deliver on those issues, too.
"While economic downturns pose challenges, they are also a way to remind us of our priorities -- our cities' economic vitality, renewable energy, education, job creation and access to health care, to name a few. These are the areas where we should spend our public dollars to demonstrate the value of investing in the future. But we also must take a good look at Pennsylvania's sources of revenue and determine how to best adapt them for these investments. Other sources of revenue could include taxing tobacco products, including pipe and chewing tobacco, cigars and even cigarettes, increasing the Personal Income Tax, taxing the gas drilled from the Marcellus shale and closing the Delaware corporate loophole.
"In Harrisburg, my commitment is always to carry out the priorities of the 182nd District -- advocating for our community, culture, environment and economic development -- to make the district a better place in which to live and work.
"As work continues on the 2009-10 state spending plan, I want to keep you updated about what is going on in Harrisburg because these issues are critical to Philadelphia as an economic and cultural leader for the state and the region. Our efforts help make Center City strong and vibrant, helping to keep Pennsylvania a great place to live and a state where we attract and retain the best talent."
© 2006 - 2007 State Representative Babette Josephs. All Rights Reserved. 215-893-1515 | 717-787-8529