Otten statement on Governor Wolf's budget address
Rep. Danielle Friel Otten February 4, 2020 | 4:49 PM
EXTON, Feb. 4 – State Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester, released the following statement in response to Gov. Tom Wolf's budget address on Tuesday.
“The priorities outlined in Governor Wolf’s budget address reflect a commitment to our children, schools, and working families, and a promising start to new conversations about pipeline safety,” Otten said. “I am excited about the governor’s support for public education at all levels, including Pre-K, full-day kindergarten, basic education and special education funding, and our state colleges and universities. The first time I ever sat down with an elected official to advocate for something I cared about, it was with my then-school board director and school board president to advocate for full-day kindergarten in the Downingtown Area School District, so this investment in early education is especially meaningful to me.”
Otten also expressed appreciation for the governor’s inclusion of pipeline safety in his address.
“I am extremely grateful to Governor Wolf for acknowledging pipeline safety as a priority for our commonwealth. As someone who has felt the impact of pipelines in my own neighborhood and closely followed this issue through the courts, I am eager for and excited by the opportunity to get this right. We need strong legislation that creates a requirement to assess the risks associated with both new pipelines and the repurposing of old pipelines and places the costs of risk assessment and pipeline early detection and warning systems squarely on the pipeline operator, not the taxpayer.
“Full and equitable funding for schools and stronger regulatory oversight of pipeline infrastructure have been among my top legislative priorities, and I have fought for these causes both in our community and in Harrisburg. I look forward to the budget debates that will occur in the coming months, and I will continue to speak out on behalf of the 155th Legislative District and advocate for the issues that matter most to our community.”