Democratic Leaders Meet to Discuss Budget Priorities

Earlier this week, Senate and House leadership met with reporters to discuss our priorities for the 2013-14 budget.  The briefing was held in anticipation of the governor’s Mid-Year Budget Briefing that was held this week.  Recognizing there are a number of critical decision points for the legislature to address next session, we believe it was important to outline our concerns. The discussion focused on transportation, funding for basic education and protecting the social safety net.

Senator Costa comments on Jobs and the Democratic Agenda Senator Costa comments on Transportation and the Democratic Agenda

With the continued economic downturn, we recognize families are still struggling to make ends meet.  The point we made was that now, more than ever, is the time to make sure decisions are reached that will ultimately lead to job growth and putting people back to work.  Pennsylvania was previously seventh on a national scale for job creation and unfortunately we’ve now fallen to 30th.  We cannot continue down a path that sees unemployment numbers growing while families suffer.
We also explained that lawmakers and the governor must continue working towards a plan that will provide for our transportation needs statewide.  It is critical that we develop a clear, comprehensive plan rather than one that will simply put a band-aid on the infrastructure problems that currently exist.  The leaders emphasized again that Pennsylvania needs leadership from the governor on the issue. 
Finally Senate and House leaders again argued that Pennsylvania must be doing more to provide for the educational needs of our children.  The cuts to basic education made by the Corbett administration were devastating to school districts across the state, forcing tax increases at the local level and a loss of educational opportunity.  We cannot allow these programs and services that provide for the future of our children to be placed at risk.
As we look forward to next session, we’re prepared for fair, honest and open conversations that will lead to solutions for Pennsylvania.  Moving forward we'll continue to have these important discussions, maintaining our focus on providing for the needs of Pennsylvania families.