Oped by Senator Jay Costa
Recently, Senator Devlin Robinson penned a short submission in defense of the Senate Republicans’ recent action – or should I say, inaction – on the Pennsylvania Budget and the looming transit crisis facing every resident in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Unfortunately, he left out a few key facts that I think you ought to know about what he voted for, and what he voted against.
On August 12, the Senate Republicans had the opportunity to move the ball forward and take real steps towards solving some of Pennsylvania’s biggest problems. The House of Representatives sent the Senate a budget that delivered much-needed funding for Pennsylvania’s public schools to solve the adequacy gap ruled unconstitutional by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. This budget bill also included critical dollars for our rural hospitals, our roads, our social services, and our economy.
Additionally, five separate times, the House of Representatives sent us bills that would have provided permanent, sustainable funding for public transit. Most recently, the House approved a permanent, sustainable funding package for public transit and transportation infrastructure that included the accountability and transparency measures championed by the Senate Republicans.
Did the Senate Republicans take up either of these urgent, commonsense bills to deliver and drive out critical funds for every Pennsylvanian? They did not.
Instead of good-faith negotiating, we got ridiculous, unserious schemes that failed to meet the scale, scope, and urgency of the transit crisis facing our commonwealth.
While real people are scrambling to make plans to get to work, school, appointments, and more as drastic cuts to transit services loom, Senate Republicans passed a transit bill that would raid capital funds for a two-year transit fix – an insufficient Band-Aid will put us in this exact same position two years from now. These are funds already earmarked to fix buses, improve railways, and repair aging infrastructure that’s critical to making transit run.
Further, their transit plan included mandated biennial fare increases in perpetuity that would put transit out of reach for many riders who rely on buses and trains to navigate their communities. Think about that for a moment: Senator Robinson personally voted to increase the cost of rides every other year forever. That’s not the kind of behavior I would expect from someone who claims to know firsthand, “the need for a safe and reliable public transit system.”
They also rammed through a budget bill that would have flat-funded every line item from the 2024-25 budget. As costs go up and Medicaid waivers are set to expire, flat-funding from last year would have been devastating to our schools, hospitals, and safety.
This last-minute strategy was not agreed to by the House Democratic Caucus or the Governor, and failed to provide a long-term solution to delivering transit systems that work for every Pennsylvanian.
And what happened to these bills he so proudly voted yes for? The very next day, August 13, the House of Representatives stayed true to its word and quickly voted down the Senate Republicans’ absurd budget and transit proposals.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: all 23 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus stand ready to be in Harrisburg at a moment’s notice to vote YES on a permanent, sustainable funding plan for Pennsylvania’s public transit and transportation infrastructure. We are united in our commitment to supporting a budget that invests in Pennsylvania’s jobs, homes, schools, hospitals, safety, and communities.
But all Devlin Robinson and the Senate Republicans were prepared to vote YES on was a low-ball insult to every Pennsylvanian counting on their leaders to deliver for them.
Now is the time to bring this budget process to a close and fully fund our transit systems, our roads, and our bridges through a permanent, sustainable revenue sources. Everyone is on the same page about the path forward – except the Senate Republicans.
I urge my colleagues across the aisle to be honest with the people of Pennsylvania about the consequences of their decision to drag out this budget process: Schools are having to take out lines of credit so that they can pay their educators and supply tools and food to our students. Hospitals, libraries, and mental healthcare institutions are making excruciating decisions to reduce hours and services because the Republicans are refusing to release their funding. And our transit systems fear they will find themselves in a “doom spiral” without serious action from the legislature as soon as possible.
It’s time to move on from the games and politics. Let’s pass a commonsense, serious budget that delivers for every Pennsylvanian now.