From Keystone Research Center/Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (https://krc-pbpc.org/):
Many Pennsylvanians still need help recovering from the pandemic—and our state economy could be even stronger.
Families are still struggling with
- paying rents and mortgages.
- affording child care.
- getting the mental health care they need.
- paying student debt.
- And small businesses struggle to reopen and recover.
Governor Wolf and House and Senate Democrats have proposed Brighter PA, a plan to use $1.7 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to meet these needs. But the Republican-led General Assembly opposes it.
Use the tool at https://www.congressweb.com/PBPC/21#/21/ to tell your member of the General Assembly to support Brighter PA!
The state has more than $2.7 billion in unused American Rescue Plan funds and can pay for the Brighter PA plan without raising taxes.
Republicans keep saying we need these funds to pay for future deficits. But, Pennsylvania will have an accumulated surplus of $11.2 billion at the end of June—and any deficits that arise will be the result of corporate tax cuts PA Republicans called for. The best way to avoid them in the future (besides asking the 73% corporations operating in PA that don’t pay any taxes to do so) is to invest in our economy NOW!
Spending these funds now is critical— not only to help Pennsylvanians recovering from the pandemic but to ensure that the fast economic recovery in the state generated by federal American Rescue Plan funds will continue.
The federal government has done its part. There is no excuse for the state to hold on to ARP dollars instead of spending them. The people of Pennsylvania have been waiting for help since June.
Thank you for everything you do, and let’s keep pushing for a Brighter PA for all of us!
Rand Tenor
We will not, GOP Assembly people, allow ourselves to be run over by your Trump handlers.