Tom Wolf Plunged Schools and Social Services into Crisis When He Vetoed Their Funding…
Tom Wolf vetoed the entire budget passed by the legislature, despite the fact 274 out of 401 line-item appropriations in the Republican budget were funded at the same or higher levels than his budget. (“Putting an End to the ‘Raise Your Taxes’ Campaign,” Office of Representative Michael Regan, 8/17/2015)
Even Though He Knew It Would Force Social Services To “Probably” Take Out Loans That “Aren’t Reimbursable”
After continuing to obstruct efforts to get money to schools and social service providers, Tom Wolf finally admitted that social service providers would “probably” take out loans. (Marc Levy, “Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf acknowledges service providers may have to borrow money,” Associated Press, 7/25/2015)
- Loans taken out by social service providers “aren’t reimbursable by the state.” (Marc Levy, “Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf acknowledges service providers may have to borrow money,” Associated Press, 7/25/2015)
Tom Wolf Blocked Attempts to Release Emergency Funds To Schools And Social Services…
In late September, Tom Wolf vetoed an effort by Republican lawmakers to provide emergency funding for school districts and non-profit organizations. (Christian Alexandersen, “Surprising no one, Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed GOP-crafted stopgap budget,” Harrisburg Patriot-News, 9/29/2015)
Forcing Shelters To Close Their Doors
Without critical state funding, Huntingdon House in Huntingdon and the Women’s Center in Bloomsburg had to relocate domestic violence victims currently being sheltered by them, and two other shelters had to stop taking in new arrivals. (“2 domestic violence shelters closing because of budget stalemate,” WTAE, 11/1/2015)
- “Although funding for victim services is universally agreed upon, the budget impasse has resulted in ZERO dollars — not state nor federal, which must be passed through the state — to fund these critical services since July 1.” (Jenny Murphy-Shifflet, “Budget impasse imperils services,” Pottsville Republican-Herald, 10/3/2015)
The stoppage of state funds caused the Community Progress Council of York County to shut down for three weeks. (Ben Allen, “York nonprofit to close for 3 weeks because of state budget crisis,” WITF, 11/5/2015)
December: Wolf Admits To Holding Social Services “Hostage”
In late December, Governor Tom Wolf signed a partial budget which released partial funds for schools and social services, saying they should no longer be held “hostage.” (Natasha Lindstrom and Donald Gilliland, “Gov. Wolf vetoes Republican budget, will release funds for schools,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 12/29/2015)
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