Episode 22: It’s on the House

The state budget isn’t done, major bills are coming due, credit rating agencies are breathing down lawmakers’ necks, and it’s time for House Republicans to decide what they’re willing to do to fill a $2.2 billion deficit. The problem is, the caucus itself may not even be unified enough to rally around one plan. This …

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The state budget isn’t done, major bills are coming due, credit rating agencies are breathing down lawmakers’ necks, and it’s time for House Republicans to decide what they’re willing to do to fill a $2.2 billion deficit.

The problem is, the caucus itself may not even be unified enough to rally around one plan.

This week saw a bloc of conservative members introduce a proposal they said would raise well over $2 billion by transferring surplus money from the state’s special funds—which go toward things like transportation projects and agriculture programs.

Supporters said the plan wouldn’t impact services. But it got immediate backlash from Democratic House members, both parties in the Senate, and the Wolf administration—who all say it absolutely would.

Steve Esack of the Morning Call and Liz Navratil of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette join us to talk about the dynamics that are at play in the legislature as the state creeps closer to fiscal crisis.

Plus, we’ll discuss the surprise departure of Pennsylvania Representative Charlie Dent—one of Congress’s most moderate Republicans.