Remarks of Rep. Mike Reese in Support of House Bill 1485: May 24, 2011.

For the past 8 years, we have had late budgets that have featured unrestrained spending.  It has placed us in the position of having to restore financial discipline in Pennsylvania, and this budget plan marks the start of that effort.

In House Bill 1485, we have restored funding to areas of need, while not exceeding the revenues that we have. 

This so-called “surplus” is a misnomer. We face a debt in unemployment compensation that must be repaid to the federal government,   a potential court case that would force the repayment of $800 million in the previously-raided MCARE fund and the general outstanding debt of the Commonwealth as the result of years of borrowing.

We must have a state budget that fulfills the basic needs of our Commonwealth, and we have with the adjustments made in this plan.  We have restored funding to basic and higher education, restored funding to hospitals and human services.

But something else needs to be said here. There must be a change in mindset. The mindset of spending everything in sight is foolish, at best. Everyone who gets state funding must act in a financially disciplined manner and that has to start right now.

I hope that the Senate will act accordingly when they receive this bill, and I ask for a yes vote on House Bill 1485.