Four Pennsylvania House Republicans have signed on to a national letter opposing a federal “bailout” of states, saying it would contribute to some states’ lack of fiscal discipline.
The letter, signed by over 200 legislators from states across the country, is circulating while the White House and Congress attempt to broker a second deal regarding federal coronavirus relief funding.
Three major sticking points to any potential deal include a second round of stimulus funding for all Americans, additional federal unemployment funding — which was reported to be significantly cut in advance of the bill’s introduction — and providing aid to states whose budgets were rocked by massive job losses and declines in tax revenue brought by the pandemic.
“While the economy has produced record revenues in recent years, sadly, states have also continued to accumulate massive amounts of debt and unfunded financial liabilities,” the letter reads. “A federal bailout would only encourage this cycle of debt and spending to continue. It would also send the wrong message to states that have made difficult spending choices and practiced fiscal discipline.”
Back home, Pennsylvania is dealing with a nearly $5 billion budget shortfall of its own. The state passed a temporary five-month budget in May, which will expire in November.
But that didn’t stop Rep. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson and Indiana counties, from signing on to the letter.
“There are states which have made financially prudent decisions that have allowed them to be in a position to weather the COVID situation on a much firmer foundation than those which have not,” Dush said.
“There are also states which appear to be using the situation to bail themselves out of the fiscal hole they had dug for themselves with regard to their public sector pension programs going back decades. As the letter indicates, I’m not one who believes in rewarding bad behavior.”
Reps. Frank Ryan, R-Lebanon County; Dawn Keefer, R-York County; and Gary Day, R-Berks County, also signed the letter.
But Rep. Matthew Bradford of Montgomery County, the ranking Democratic member on the House Appropriations Committee, blasted the move by some House Republicans as “callous and irresponsible.” He said the state’s “dire financial situation cannot be addressed without relief from the federal government.”
The letter “only elevates severe right-wing ideology over support for our first responders, educators, small business owners and public health workers, who have been life-sustaining and life-saving throughout this pandemic,” Bradford said.
Lyndsay Kensinger, a spokeswoman for Gov. Tom Wolf, said the four Pennsylvania signatories “have made it clear that they are in favor of cuts to services in Pennsylvania.”
Kensinger said Pennsylvania needs Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Bob Casey, D-Pa., to “work across the aisle,” cut through partisanship and pass a federal stimulus bill that funds programs and helps the state and its counties and localities “fill budget holes caused by this crisis.”
“We need Republican leadership in the United States Senate to get serious about helping out the communities most affected by this global pandemic,” Kensinger said. “If they are not able to do this, we will likely see drastic cuts to the programs our citizens need the most caused by the partisan inaction that has been allowed to go on for too long now.”
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Four Pa. Republican lawmakers sign letter opposing federal bailout of states - PennLive
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