HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania’s budget stalemate deepened yesterday as House Democrats voted down two key bills passed by the Republican-controlled Senate, including a plan to fund mass transit systems such as SEPTA.
The rejected measures were presented as a path to both finalize the overdue state budget and avert looming service cuts for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. The proposals included new transit funding and a spending framework Republicans described as the most fiscally responsible plan to date.
House Republican Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford/Fulton) sharply criticized the outcome, arguing that Democrats had missed a critical opportunity to resolve “dual crises” affecting SEPTA and other state-funded operations. He faulted the majority for dismissing a compromise that, while imperfect, he said would have delivered needed relief.
“When SEPTA is offered funding and then proceeds to tell the House of Representatives that it will shut down operations because the funding solution is not perfect, it shows how disingenuous folks in this process have been about their real desire to avert calamity,” Topper said.
With no agreement in place, the impasse continues to threaten essential services and delay financial certainty for agencies and communities across the state. Topper warned that each failed vote pushes a resolution further out of reach, “hurting the people of Pennsylvania who rely on state and mass transit services the most.”
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