HARRISBURG — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Communications Director Megan Sweeney released the following statement regarding Tom Wolf’s comment that he was “proud” of his work during the budget crisis.
In speaking with reporters yesterday, Tom Wolf said, “The first thing I’d say is that… we don’t have a budget. And that on one hand is — I’m sorry for that — that we’ve taken this long to get to a budget. But I’m actually proud that I stood up and said, ‘if we’re going to have a budget, let’s get one that actually adds up. Not one that’s a sham’.”
“How can Tom Wolf be ‘proud’ of plunging Pennsylvania into a needless budget crisis?” Sweeney asked. “In June, Tom Wolf issued a complete budget veto that cost our schools and social services tens of millions of dollars. For months, Tom Wolf sat by while schools and non-profits were forced to take out loans, lay off staff, and even close their doors. It was Tom Wolf who single-handedly blocked attempts to provide our school districts and non-profits with the funding they need to function, and all because he wanted to raise taxes by the highest rate in the nation. Tom Wolf even acknowledged that the budget crisis was costing non-profits money, but he made his special interest paybacks his top priority.
“Six months after starting the budget crisis, Tom Wolf admitted his multi-billion mistake when he signed a Republican plan to provide emergency funding for our schools and social services. Is Tom Wolf ‘proud’ of his efforts to hold our schools and non-profits hostage? Is Governor Wolf ‘proud’ of his unilateral decision to cut $3 billion in funding for education, or his cuts to health care and safety measures? Does Tom Wolf realize the devastating effects his actions during the budget crisis have had on millions of Pennsylvanians?
“Over the course of the past twelve months, Tom Wolf has proven himself to be drastically out-of-touch with Pennsylvanians. Tom Wolf’s actions caused this budget crisis, and that’s nothing to be proud of.”
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