Cash aid for disabled adults on Pa. chopping block

A program that provides about $200 a month for disabled adults who can’t work is on Pennsylvania’s chopping block even as state lawmakers are using improving tax collections to reverse some of Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget cuts.

Corbett eliminated the $150 million General Assistance cash benefit in his $27.1 billion budget plan released in February. The rising cost of pensions and health care were partly to blame for cuts elsewhere.
Senators voted 39-8 last week for an alternative, $27.7 billion budget plan that also would eliminate the cash benefit while erasing some of Corbett’s proposed cuts for education, social services, health care, retailers and the race horse industry.

House Majority Leader Mike Turzai says the Senate’s headed in the right direction, but wouldn’t predict how the House will respond.