S&P Downgrades Pa. Credit As Budget Standoff Continues
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- Governor Tom Wolf has warned about it for months…and now, Standard and Poor's has downgraded Pennsylvania's credit as the state's budget remains unbalanced.
Citing the budget stalemate and the state's chronic structural budget imbalance, Standard and Poor's Wednesday lowered Pennsylvania's credit rating. Governor Wolf and the Senate are at odds with the House on how to fully fund the budget that became law back in July, and reaction to the downgrade broke along those lines.
The House last week rejected a Senate revenue plan that included tax increases, and on Wednesday, House GOP leaders released a statement saying that state taxes are still being collected and dismissing the downgrade as a decision made by a "small group of unknown people at Standard and Poor's."
Senate Republicans shot back saying they agree with S&P's concerns about fiscal stability.
Governor Wolf declared the downgrade a "wake-up call."