Harrisburg, PA – July 8, 2022 – Pennsylvania State Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa today voted in support of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
“Given our unprecedented revenue surplus, Senate Democrats fought tirelessly to ensure an agreement that would provide historic investments in education, support safer neighborhoods and more secure schools, and put money back in the pockets of all Pennsylvanians so families and communities can thrive.
While I feel this budget does not take full advantage of the resources we have, this is a process of compromise and there is a lot here that I support, including several initiatives proposed by Senate Democrats.
This budget utilizes more than $2.1 billion in American Rescue Plan dollars that will be used to fund a variety of critical programs that support school safety, mental health, and anti-violence initiatives; long term care workers and childcare assistance; affordable housing; clean water and infrastructure upgrades; higher education; and increases in property tax rebates to homeowners.
Most notably, this plan provides historic investments in education from pre-K through college, including career and technical education, something our caucus has advocated for many years.
Our work on helping the citizens of this Commonwealth is not done as we continue our recovery from the pandemic and face the challenges of global inflation, but today’s actions are a good start.”
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