Sen. Stack talks about the budget during a Senate Democratic news conference.
HARRISBURG, June 29, 2012 — State Sen. Mike Stack said today that the 2012-13 state budget hurts too many Pennsylvanians while giving generous tax breaks to foreign corporations.
Stack opposed the state spending plan, which was approved by the Senate today by a 32-17 vote and now heads to the governor for his signature.
“If we are going to be giving hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks to Royal Dutch Shell and allow outsourcing of Pennsylvania jobs, we can do a lot better for our greatest resources — the citizens of Pennsylvania,” said Stack (D-Phila.). “Instead, this budget makes harsh cuts to services that help our most vulnerable citizens. Mental health and homeless assistance budget cuts will result in more people living on the streets, less productive citizens, and more welfare spending.”
Under the budget, Child Care Services funding to help low-income families afford daycare, work, and stay off the welfare rolls saw a $6.6 million cut. The Human Services Development Fund to give counties the ability to help those in need received a $1.5 million cut.
“Failing to fund adultBasic and cutting Child Care Services funding will mean that one illness, one missed day of work could cost people their job, or worse, their life,” Stack said.
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Basic education and higher education, which are still reeling from last year’s deep budget cuts, were level funded in the latest spending plan.
Although the budget increases funding in the Medicaid Long-Term Care for Seniors line item by $72 million, that funding goes toward nursing homes instead of home- and community-based services. The budget also establishes a $100 million in reserve in the state lottery fund while waiting lists for home- and community-based services for seniors continue to grow.
“Nursing homes are the most expensive form of long-term care for seniors. More importantly, they are an unpopular option for older citizens, who want to remain independent and in their homes,” Stack said. “We should be allocating more funding toward home- and community-based services and reducing waiting lists for those services.”
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Stack said he was disappointed that the budget doesn’t adequately tax Marcellus Shale drilling or close the Delaware Loophole.
“Closing the Delaware Loophole and implementing a fairer tax on the Marcellus Shale is a sensible way to bring in revenue without burdening taxpayers,” Stack said. “Instead, Pennsylvania citizens are dealing with pain and higher local property taxes while corporations are having a field day.”
The budget does not provide any funding solution for the state’s transportation infrastructure crisis.
“The governor’s own commission said a long-term funding plan for transportation infrastructure would create jobs and prevent buckled roads and catastrophic bridge collapses,” Stack said. “If we invest in fixing our roads and bridges, we’ll be safer, we’ll create jobs, and we’ll be attractive for businesses.
“The budget reflects short-sighted cuts that will force local property tax increases and detrimentally impact programs and services,” Stack said. “It’s simply not good enough for the people of Pennsylvania.”
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