Budget Conflict

The Philadelphia Inquirer has an Editorial today that has really missed the mark.

Last week, we posted some partisan rumblings on the budget in Pennsylvania between Rep. Garth Everett and Democratic Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans.

So today the Inquirer states:

Each June, state GOP leaders begin to chirp that Gov. Rendell has given them too much work to do.

The budget deadline is June 30. Rendell submitted his $28.3 billion spending plan in February. On most planets, that's enough time to finish a budget.

...So now, GOP negotiators need to keep at the job in a spirit of give-and-take, and not follow last year's example of simply resisting the governor on all fronts.

Some Republicans are leery about all the borrowing Rendell has proposed - about $4 billion. That's a legitimate concern, but Pennsylvania's overall debt is average, when compared with what other states owe.

Too often at budget time, the GOP in Harrisburg has been content to sit on its thumbs. This budget season, the Senate GOP needs to do more than just say "no" to proposals that would result in real progress for working Pennsylvanians.

If the Inquirer had any clue what was going on, they would realize that the Republicans are attempting to actually work on the budget. That's the problem. The Democrats, led by Chairman Evans, have unnecessarily tied the budget up in committee where it has already received its due attention.

Today's Editorial comes on the heels of an Op-Ed from Republican Rep. Mario Civera who is the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee:

For more than two months, the state budget bill has remained dormant in the Democrat-controlled House Appropriations Committee. Despite calls from lawmakers to get the process moving and debate the bill, Democratic Appropriations Chairman Rep. Dwight Evans continues to hold the budget at bay.

As it stands now, Evans is effectively silencing every member of the state House - both Republican and Democrat - and preventing them from offering any input on the budget.

...While Evans continues to stall the process, the legislature is losing precious time in its effort to adopt a state budget by the June 30 deadline.

Following last year's budget impasse and the furlough of 25,000 state employees, most would imagine he would want to avoid another headline-generating embarrassment. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

In a May 27 letter to legislative leaders, even Gov. Rendell indicated that he too would like to see more progress on the budget to avoid a repeat of last year.

This was the first notice from the governor on this matter since I submitted a letter to his office in February, urging that we adopt a budget before June 30.

House Republicans want to get this process moving. We want to meet the deadline. We want to allow all members the opportunity to offer input on their priorities for the budget.

Chairman Evans has essentially embargoed the budget in committee and allowed for less than a month of review and debate on the merits of the proposals in the House. Therefore, as time ticks by, the Democrats will be closer to achieving their goal: a budget with more than 80 amendments rushed out of committee with little discussion on the floor.

While the Philadelphia Inquirer is correct that on most planets the June 30th deadline would offer enough time to complete a budget, in a world where a powerful Democrat from Philadelphia can sit on the budget, it proves difficult to foster an environment where the budget receives the open debate between lawmakers that it deserves.