Thursday, June 26, 2008

A Budget Deal, Really?

It seems an agreement on the budget could be reached sooner rather than later. One sign that this could happen is that both sides are continuing talks and no one has yet to walk away from the table.

House Republican leader Sam Smith noted that it could be possible for the House and Senate to vote on budget bills Monday and have them signed by the Governor on Wednesday. This would seemingly avoid the furloughing of state employees as Rendell previously stated he would not do so if he perceived a budget deal to be close.

The Democrats' plan to dip into the rainy day fund has been taken off the table after Wednesday's negotiations, but a hiccup in the agreement is how to make up for the projected surplus shortfall due to the economic downturn.

Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) said, "Calling it a framework is a generous description, but it is not entirely inaccurate."

Even a budget that was two-days late would still be an improvement for the Rendell administration.

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