HARRISBURG – When the much-maligned General Assembly approved on Saturday the final building blocks of a $28 billion Pennsylvania budget that held the line on taxes, limited new spending, and arrived more or less on time, there was relief on both sides of the aisle.
Legislators could return to their districts and seek reelection without having to explain a delay like last year’s grueling 101-day budget stalemate to this year’s famously incumbent-averse electorate.
Republicans and Democrats could boast of achieving modest goals in the toughest times.
Taxes held steady; Gov. Rendell, months away from leaving office, made good on his pledge to bump up aid for schools. Painful cuts would be spread around – from environmental protections and social services to parks and libraries.
But even as Rendell prepares to sign the budget Tuesday, a number of costly and controversial issues remain unresolved.
For starters: Would Congress come through with the hoped-for $850 million in Medicaid reimbursements on which the budget depends?
The money is to cover the state’s Medicaid expenditures – that is, health coverage for Pennsylvanians living in poverty, whose ranks have been swelled by the recession.
If even part of the Medicaid money fails to win approval in Washington by the end of July, Rendell said, administration officials and legislators will have to find more cuts.
Tags: Ed Rendell, PA budget
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