Heffley: Wolf’s Massive Spending Increase Unrealistic

February 9, 2022

HARRISBURG – Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon) attended a joint session of the General Assembly today to hear Gov. Tom Wolf outline his budget proposal for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

He issued the following statement in response to the governor’s $43.7 billion spending plan:

“The governor reiterated many of the same old tax-and-spend policies of the last seven years that have been so unpopular with most Pennsylvanians. He is asking for a massive spending increase of $6.2 billion, which works out to an unbelievable $17 million in state spending a day. What the governor and Democrats are seeking is simply unrealistic and unstainable. It’s a wish list.

“That said, one of the governor’s proposals I did like was the Level Up education initiative which would make extra money available to school districts that have been historically underfunded.

“House Republicans are now going to take a realistic look at what revenues are available and what we can spend to adequately fund our schools, public safety and infrastructure repairs. Those are the key priorities we will focus on as the budget process moves forward.

“We do have America Rescue Plan funds available to us, but we just can’t blow that in one year like the governor is proposing, which would result in a huge budget shortfall and tax increases. We need to be prudent and ensure sustained growth for Pennsylvania over the next few years.”

Heffley noted that the governor’s address is just the beginning of the annual budget process. The House Appropriations Committee, of which he is a member, will conduct a series of hearings starting Tuesday, Feb. 15, to examine the details of the governor’s plan and how state departments and agencies are spending their funding. A schedule of the hearings and more information on the 2022-23 budget is available at pahousegop.com.

To view or download a broadcast-quality of Heffley’s budget statement, visit here  (:20) or here  (1:33).

Representative Doyle Heffley
122nd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Andy Briggs
717-260-6474
abriggs@pahousegop.com
RepHeffley.com / Facebook.com/RepHeffley