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Budget Update: Gov. Corbett Signs Budget, Whacks Legislature with Line-Item Vetoes

Governor-Tom-CorbettThe entire state of Pennsylvania sat on the edge of their seats this morning as they awaited the answer as to whether the budget would be signed.

“Wow, it’s quiet in here,” Corbett joked in an attempt to break the ice at the start of his press conference.

After detailing those items in the budget that he was proud of and those he was concerned with, the Governor indicated that he would use his line-item veto to block $65 million in general assembly funds and $7.2 million in legislative spending.

In his statement, Gov. Corbett bashed the legislature and public sector unions, particularly PSEA, for the failure to take up pension reform.

“The legislature needs to take action on pension reform,” he said. “It is time to stop talking around the edges and support meaningful reform.”

The $29.1 billion question, however, wasn’t addressed until the Governor was asked whether he would sign the budget.

“I’ve signed the budget,” he declared.

Gov. Corbett strongly pushed back when reporters suggested that his swipe at the legislature would not be conducive to getting pension reform done. He seemed particularly taken aback when one questioner asked why the legislature should give anything if Corbett didn’t seem willing to give anything.

“Oh, we have been giving all along,” the Governor responded.

It would appear that after seriously considering a full veto, the Governor decided on a more limited approach of attacking the legislature instead. This strategy was previewed in an article by Brad Bumsted of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this morning.

This may very well be part of an effort by Gov. Corbett to set up a run against Harrisburg as he embarks on a general election campaign that currently sees him down 22 points.

The Governor, who made his name prosecuting members of the legislature, has never been their favorite individual so the strategy makes sense and has ample truth to it.

“As you know, I came to Harrisburg as an outsider,” he commented early on.

32 Responses

  1. Where is all the money from all the fracking companies? Why isn’t there enough revenue?

  2. Deena I aint got no spelcheek and I aint no wht your talking about embarising nobody

  3. To Chris Marttinez, please use spell check or consult a dictionary -you are embarrassing yourself.

  4. guvenore corbatts newest comerchal on tevee is very good and make a grate case for voting for him for anuther term, even thoug the demct on the race john wolfe stil has his chance to make his case for why hee shuld knock corbatt out of office.
    everbody say wolfe gonna win but its aint true yet plus the policy in penna. is the R’s are gtovernor for 8 yrs and the D’s then are guven for the next yrs. that means corbatt is sposed to win in a land slide in noveber

  5. Is there any downside to more government spending, more government borrowing and higher taxes?

  6. A good beginning: Turzai and Pileggi furious. Turzai, Pileggi and the House and Senate Republican leadership have blocked Pension Reform and other fiscally responsible initiatives. The Gov. responds. Good for him.

  7. To the commenter who said Corbett’s problem is he doesn’t have enough money, let us not forget that Corbett’s last budget cut $1.2 billion in revenue for tax cuts mainly for the wealthy….now he is facing a budget deficit just a bit more than $1.2 billion. It’s his own fault. And as far as pension “reform” goes remember this: Whenever politicians start bleating about imbalanced pension funds, the workers ALWAYS pay in their share….they HAVE to. The problem generally happens when legislators and businesses stiff their share.

  8. guvenor corbitt is doing the best he can without havin enogh money to do it and evan tho he has bunch of republcens in the legislatore he gets lot of people who aint in mood to give him the vote he need to get stuff past and get done for the state. it aint his falt. may be john wolfe can do bettar, may me he cant do bettar

  9. HERE IS PAINDY1’S ANALYSIS OF THE ELMINATION OF CAUCUS MONEY: ACTING GOVERNOR BRABENDER GETS PAID BY THE POUND OF COMMERCIALS. CORBETT DONORS ARE DRYING UP! SO IN MY MIND THIS TAKING AWAY CAUCUS MONEY IS NOT ABOUT PENSION REFORM. THESE FUNDS WILL BE USED TO ENTICE DONORS WHO WANT TO SOLICIT FAVOR WITH A VERY LAMEDUCK GOVERNOR TO “CONSIDER” FUNDING THEIR FAVORITE PROJECTS. WE COULD CALL THIS PAY TO PLAY BUT EVERY PA CITIZEN HAS A RIGHT TO DONATE TO ANY VALID CANDIDATE NO MATTER HOW DUMB IT IS. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT TODAY’S MOVES DON’T THINK ABOUT CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES OR PENSION REFORM! JUST THINK ABOUT GOVERNOR BRABENDER’S NET WORTH.

  10. I worked for the Commonwealth 35 years and paid into the pension system for 35 years. When Tom Ridge was Governor, he stopped paying the Commonwealth’s share for State Employees, while we continued to pay our share. The mess the pension system is in 1) Tom Ridge, 2) Legislators pensions are based on every one year in office, they are compensated for two. The Legislators also have the best healthcare, dental, vision and long term care insurance. State Employees pay a portion of their health insurance and do not have vision, dental or long term health care insurance. Granted I have a good pension, but I worked hard for my pension – nothing was given to me.

  11. PAGOP DONORS AND CORBETT DONORS: DEFUND ACTING GOVERNOR BRABENDER AND THE PAGOP! DON’T BE DUPED! IT’S OVER! ACTING GOVERNOR BRABENDER SHOULD OWE YOU ALL FOR THIS TRAIN WRECK!

  12. Saw a Democratic Senator today who said LG Cawley was actually complaining about the ineptitude and failed leadership of the Corbett/Brabender Administration. James, I feel your pain. Go into a self-induced coma and wake up on election day.

  13. Request to journalists who put on Big Boy Pants tell the public the real story about the failing Corbett/Brabender team: 1. Tell the voters how the GOP legislative caucus treats the Governor with absolute disdain and offers impassioned prayers for real leadership from Tom Wolf. 2. Please tell how the public how the Corbett Administration sold the public interest out to World Class Jeff Romoff of UPMC. How much did Acting Governor Brabender make as a strategic political advisor to get us to PATIENTS FIRST?

  14. Careful, Chris – you don’t want to misspell too many words.  Folks might realize you’re only *pretending* to be an illiterate Corbett supporter in order to make him look bad.

    But until someone blows your cover, keep up the hard work. They’re forecasting 4,000,000+ votes in this election, but with a few more months trolling on a website visited by about 3 undecideds so far, you’ll probably swing this thing in Wolf’s favor.

  15. {All prior comments–except mine, of course–have lacked CONTENT.}

  16. Inasmuch as all the comments thus far have been anti-Corbett [all lacking comment, channeling varying degrees of sarcasm], it is necessary to provide a key-concept for everyone to weigh; in short, I’m THRILLED!

    I have been critical of Corbett for many reasons [on PoliticsPA, in particular, during the past two years…and also directly to his close-colleagues], but he may have finally found his “groove”; a week ago, I sent a blank e-mail to a key-legislator [who is in leadership] with the following subject-line: “Why not delay the vote of the goodies until AFTER the pension has been approved?”

    Essentially, this presaged what transpired and, one hopes, a certain social-pressure will successfully budge the legislature; until today, the unions have “owned” all Dems and “rented” some R’s.

  17. I say guvenor corbitt is doing the wright thing by making people who work for guvenment pay somthin towerds their pension and he the guv will do bettar in the poles and will win in novebmer .

  18. Seeing I view the Legislature as being slightly better than drug dealers, I cannot disagree with a partial cut to their budget. Regardless how you feel the Pension Crisis should be solved, doing nothing just makes it worse. The fact the Democrats refuse to support steep cuts and Republicans refuse to support tax increases to solve it as the parties are driven by unreasonable bases.

  19. Well, he IS an Outsider, in that he always puts the interests of Texas and Oklahoma oil companies AHEAD of Pennsylvania’s interests in his policies. It’s almost as if we elected Rick Perry to be the Governor of PA.

  20. “The state of Pennsylvania sat on the edge of their seats this morning as they awaited the answer as to whether the budget would be signed.”

    Was somebody absent the day they taught grammar in grammar school? Does this site have editors? This website has read like it was written by a fourth grader since Keegan left. Very disappointing.

  21. So, he cuts the lines for the legislature knowing that they have more than enough in reserve to make up the difference and that they will add it back next year. And knowing that this won’t force them to come back to negotiate on the single issue on which he is focused–public pensions. He cuts some of the embedded WAMs but not all of them. He claims the $5 million for the middle income scholarship program as a success, despite the fact that it represents only 20% of what he asked for and doesn’t make up for flatlining public higher education for three years forcing tuition increases. He says nothing about the fact that the legislature repudiated his ask for more funding for basic education, so much for leadership on that issue. Tough to see the strategy ere.

  22. anyone know what he was line item vetoing? Tommy Boy just can’t help himself shooting his own feet…..

  23. Every chance this bozo gets he messes it up. It’s laughable. Who is running Tom Corbetts campaign? Tea Bag infiltrators? He has to be two people because no ONE person could be this stupid. So now we pay the legislature to come back and vote 2/3 for their pay and veto this moron. Not only another round lost for Tommy but he’s costing us more money by having to recall the Legislature.

  24. So a guy that has spent the majority of his professional life in government is all of a sudden going to run as an outsider?

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