Breathe a sigh of relief. Call off the search dogs. The kids can come out the play, again.
Late last night, Gov. Ed Rendell announced an agreement between his office and the Legislature over a budget that was more than $500 million less than what Rendell wanted. Here’s some details from his press release:
The Governor said his education budget continues the progress Pennsylvania has made over the past five years, with historical investments in education funding.
The Governor said the budget agreement also includes:
• $650 million for an Energy Independence Strategy that will help Pennsylvania consumers and companies lower their energy costs and expand renewable energy sources;
• $350 million to repair more than 400 of the state’s worst bridges, plus $15 million for airports and rail;
• $1.2 billion for water and sewer infrastructure improvements; and
• $800 million in redevelopment capital assistance.
So, what’s missing? Health care, anyone? The Senate Republican strategy appeared to work. Remember, they recently passed a budget drastically reducing what Rendell wanted for public education, and while many people in the state slammed the GOP for such cuts, it was only a strategic maneuver. The move forced Rendell to choose between two top priorities - either dramatic increases in public education funding or creation of a health care plan to cover the roughly 800,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians. His choice now is obvious - better to finance education for the populace than get into a long-term tussle with legislators over something that directly benefits less than one-tenth of the state population. My sense is Senate Republicans are more likely to fund public education than create new bureaucracy and government-run health care.
Besides, Rendell is probably counting on a Barack Obama win in November plus increased Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, a setting prime for a national health care plan that would take pressure off the states from implementing their own.
So now it’s up to the Senate and House to debate the compromise, which they probably won’t spend much time doing, vote on the bill, Rendell signs it, and everyone’s home for the Fourth of July.
