Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro to Senate GOP: If you don’t like my ideas, bring your own

LANCASTER – Gov. Josh Shapiro rebutted Republican criticism of his budget as unrealistic as he kicked off a statewide campaign on Wednesday to drum up support for his aspirational $48.3 billion budget proposal.

Shapiro’s budget would increase spending over last year’s budget by 6.2%, or about $3 billion. But he was quickly met with disapproval that the plan was fiscally irresponsible from Senate Republicans, whom Shapiro will need to negotiate the budget with alongside House Democrats.

“I put forth ideas on education, on economic development, on a whole host of things. If they don’t like my ideas, they should come forth with their own,” Shapiro said Wednesday at a news conference at a farm machinery warehouse in Lancaster County.

The event was a preview of the arguments that Shapiro would make during the likely contentious negotiations over the proposal and his attempt to overhaul Pennsylvania’s education systems, which the Democratic governor unveiled in a Tuesday address to the legislature.

Pennsylvania needs to take on its perennial issues around education and economic development if the state wants to compete with others in the region, Shapiro said.

”Everybody in that building needs to stand up and say if they’re OK with being 49th in the nation in higher ed, if they’re OK falling behind to our neighbors on economic development, if they’re OK with an unconstitutional education system,” Shapiro added. “If they’re OK with that, that’s on them. I’m not OK with that. Now is the time to make investments.”

With a focus on fixing longtime issues in education, Shapiro proposed a nearly $1.1 billion increase in funding for K-12 public schools that includes $872 million in the next fiscal year as a down-payment to address decades of chronic underfunding and inequity. Shapiro also pitched a new system for higher education that would combine state-owned schools and community colleges under one governing body, among other efforts to make getting a college degree more affordable in Pennsylvania.

Top Senate Republicans called Shapiro’s budget proposal overambitious in a news conference Tuesday, since his plan will draw down on billions the state has saved since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Shapiro proposed a few new revenue streams and no new taxes, Pennsylvania will begin outspending its revenue under this budget proposal and all future years, according to projections.

“As I listened to that budget, [it was] a bunch of unicorns and rainbows without any real explanation of how we’re going to implement it and how we’re going to pay for it,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland).

Shapiro and lawmakers face a June 30 deadline to pass a budget. While the lawmakers scrutinize his budget, he’ll continue to travel the state to sell the proposal. Leaders will then move to closed-door negotiations to strike a final deal. Last year’s budget negotiations stalled over a school voucher program, which Shapiro initially supported before vetoing.

“I hope lawmakers will carefully do their analysis on my proposal,” Shapiro said. “Their analysis shouldn’t be an excuse for paralysis. Now is the time to act.”