The sales pitch on the Obama administration’s proposed economic stimulus package will roll into central Pennsylvania tomorrow.
Vice President Joe Biden will appear in the Harrisburg area with Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell to barnstorm on behalf of the more than $800 billion plan to stimulate the economy. According to a news release, Biden and rendell will tour the Route 34 bridge over the Conodoguinet Creek near Carlisle, then arrive at the state Capitol for remarks.
Will the Mobile Nest make its way there? Uh, yah! We’ll cover it live for you.
Update: On the heels of the Biden announcement comes this from Rendell, who warned the Senate version of the stimulus package gives states a punch on the chin. That’s because the Senate version reduces the amount of budget aid states were expecting to receive from the feds:
But the Senate plan, he warned, would blow a $493 million hole in his $29 billion spending plan, a gap that hypothetically would lead to deeper cuts in the state workforce; reduced state support for state funding for universities like Penn State, Pitt and Temple; and a suspension of a planned business tax cut.
The governor said state worker layoffs, which he had already forecast in a range of 300 to 900, could grow to 1,500 or more. Aid to the state-related colleges could be shrunk by $100 million. And the phase-out of a tax on business assets would be halted for a year, at a cost to businesses of $76 million.
“This next round of cuts,” Rendell said, “I think would bring us into the category of pretty severe pain.”
