Budget woefully inadequate, Burns says
Rep. Frank Burns June 30, 2014
HARRISBURG, June 30 – State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria/Somerset, said that he voted against the $29.1 billion 2014-15 state budget:
"Many people in the district are troubled that Governor Corbett raised taxes on gasoline earlier this year, forcing us to pay more at the pump, but has refused to enact a reasonable severance tax on the Marcellus Shale industry which has some of the largest companies in the world. Because Pennsylvania is a major exporter of natural gas, the cost would not be passed down to us but passed on to the states importing the gas.
"It's just one indication that the governor's policies are unfair, and this budget is no different.
"Our schools are once again woefully underfunded," Burns said. "This is the fourth budget that perpetuates the $1 billion in cuts for public education, which has led to skyrocketing property taxes as middle-income families and those on fixed incomes are forced to pick up the tab.
"Yet, while these cuts have continued, Governor Corbett has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars defending such failed policies as lottery privatization, while giving $2 billion in tax breaks to big corporations and refusing to close tax loopholes that benefit big business.
"This year's spending plan is more of the same. The plan takes money from dedicated programs to balance the budget. Two of the programs losing out are the Volunteer Fire Company Loan fund at a $30 million loss, and a fund to help small businesses by a reduction of $100 million. Senior citizen programs also will be negatively impacted as $155 million is being taken from the fund dedicated to programs for older Pennsylvanians.
"Overall, this budget is unfair to most Pennsylvanians and I could not in good conscience support an unfair plan that shortchanges education and places the burden on working Pennsylvanians."