PA House Passes GOP Budget Wolf Calls A 'Good Starting Point'
HARRISBURG (CBS) -- Voting mostly along party lines, the state House has sent the Senate a Republican-crafted budget bill in response to the spending plan proposed by Democratic Governor Tom Wolf.
The House Republican budget now on its way to the Senate calls for spending $800 million dollars less than what Governor Wolf proposed. And a key House Democrat poured cold water on it, saying the GOP budget cuts "into the bone." But Democratic Governor Tom Wolf wasn't in panic mode Tuesday during an appearance on Pittsburgh sister station KDKA.
"It's a good starting point. And we're already talking, which is a good thing. And you've got to say, this early April," said Wolf. "They've come up with a budget [in] early April. So, this is a good sign that we're going to have a good, productive set of conversations."
The governor says he is pleased that the House Republicans preserved his proposed increases for basic and special education, but cited less funding than he wants for early childhood education and for efforts to battle opioid addiction as drawbacks of the GOP plan.