House parties locked on Pa. budget funding

The state’s new fiscal year is underway, and there is still no sign of a finished funding plan for the budget.

After a week of bipartisan votes on a spending plan, House Democrats and Republicans seem to have hit a wall on how to pay for it.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, said his caucus has already put together a balanced proposal to pay for the $31.6 billion budget.

“I think all five parties need to get on board,” Reed said. “We’re the only ones to actually put revenue on the table — $1.2 billion worth of revenue out of the House Republican Caucus.”

Reed said that $1.2 billion will be more than enough to cover spending increases.

However, House Democrats refuse to sign on — they say Reed’s funding falls short by about $150 million.

Still, House Minority Whip Mike Hanna, D-Clinton, was quick to say progress is possible.

“I would say it’s premature to say that things have broken down,” Hanna said. “I would say that we’ve hit the tough part, and we’ve got to work out way through it.

“Sure it’s going to be hard, and we knew that. But we just have to keep doing that and get it done.”

Gov. Tom Wolf said he won’t sign any budget without a balanced funding plan.