Senator Jay Costa: We believe that there are a number of things lacking in the governor’s budget proposal we heard today. Probably first and foremost is his lack of vision for this commonwealth. It’s void of anything that talks about how we grow jobs and create jobs in this commonwealth. There’s no job plan in this budget proposal and no discussion about it. Senate Democrats for years have been talking about our PA Works Program that grows jobs in this commonwealth. Nothing like that in this budget proposal.

The second major issue relates to our investments in education. The governor ties investments in education, nominal or minimal investments in education, to divestment or the selling or privatization of our wine and spirit shops. At the end of the day, our kids’ education, it’s going to be dependent upon making sure we have wine and spirit shops in some 20,000 outlets across the commonwealth. We think that’s a wrong approach to really bring that Washington style politics where you link these issues together and it’s either one or the other.

It should not be that way. We must have a sincere conversation about investments in education, from early learning education up to our higher education areas and basic education obviously as well. But we’re disappointed in the governor’s linking alcohol privatization to investments in education. It’s wrong. It’s not the right approach. And finally, we’re very much concerned about the conversation that the governor does not want to have about the expansion of Medicaid, medical assistance.

That’s a program that will provide 500,000 working individuals. And let me be clear, working individuals today who don’t have health insurance that this program from the federal government that bears the expense. The cost is borne by the federal government and nominal cost going forward for Pennsylvania that will ultimately save Pennsylvanians year in and year out in excess of $600 million. The governor chose not to get on that path at this point. We need to convince him that it’s the wrong thing to do.

When you look at a Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act that will invest $4 billion, $4 billion, in healthcare services in Pennsylvania, we think that’s what we must be doing and then to ensure, provide modest health insurance to some 500,000 working people in this commonwealth. So to the people that are watching this program, there are more than a half million folks out there today who don’t have health insurance and this governor is denying them the opportunity to have a responsible, reasonable level of health insurance which we think is appropriate.