Fund Budget Needs With Smaller Bills

Sponsored Content

Philadelphia (CBS) - Matt Brouillette, President and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, voiced his support for efforts in the Pennsylvania legislature to pass individual funding bills for state services while the Governor continues to battle with lawmakers over the budget.

Brouillette told Talk Radio 1210 WPHT's Dom Giordano that vital agencies are running out of money and passing bills to fund each individually will work until a broader deal is finally completed.

"We've got human services agencies [and] schools that are beginning to see their reserves dwindle. They're running out of money. The Governor, unfortunately, his veto is preventing that money from flowing to areas where there was agreement. So, the Republicans are taking up action in order to get this funding flowing where there is agreement between the legislature and the Governor."

He stated he thinks a solution is manageable if both sides are willing to cede some ground.

"We see that there is a path for compromise and it will require the Republicans in the legislature to give some to get something. While Governor Wolf is going to need to tell his government union supporters we have to do something on the pension front and it's time for us to get government out of the booze business, Republicans are also going to have to go to their own business interests and say we need to stop these subsidies, whether it's to the film industry or the horse racing industry, money that the taxpayers should not be supporting these crony capitalists. This is the give and take that we see as a real solution to ending this budget impasse."

Brouillette, who does not see the fight over the budget ending soon, hopes that these smaller compromises will be embraced by the Governor's office.

"The best case scenario is, by the end of September, the Governor signs these budget bills that would allow for funding to flow to the schools, to human services, agencies then it likely continues to have debate over the bigger issues of the day. Hopefully, they can come to that conclusion, otherwise, no one knows. This would likely go past Thanksgiving, into the Christmas time, because it does not seem that Governor Wolf, at this point, is giving up on his demands for the highest taxes in the country."