Budget Stalemate Day 2: No Deal

There were no spending plan votes cast during the second day of the Pennsylvania budget stalemate but there was plenty of rhetoric and finger pointing. Republicans continued to decried what they call “scare tactics” from the Rendell Administration. Those have been coming in the form of press releases and press conferences detailing consequences of major budget cuts. Rendell Chief of Staff Steve Crawford defended the warnings yesterday and made a few more points. He says, “Imagine summertime fairs coming on. These amusement rides that are put up and taken down every week by carnies throughout the state? They’re inspected by somebody. When you put your 4-year-old on there for their first whiz-bang ride, you’d like to think they’re safe. They’re inspected by somebody, and those people are employed by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” He also wondered what an e coli outbreak would look like if there were not health department workers ready to respond. Republican House members spent much of the week urging Democratic leaders to call a full vote on a budget proposal. Republican Mario Civera is the minority chair of the House Appropriations committee. He has been hectoring Democratic leaders on the floor, urging them to call a full House vote on a budget. “What I’m asking, what I’m getting at is, at the conclusion of this line-by-line, will the Democratic party be ready, be prepared to bring a bill to the floor?” The governor and legislative leaders had been meeting behind closed doors to review the competing spending plans line by line. They’re scheduled to sit down again Monday.