Senator Lloyd Smucker: Floor Remarks - Veto Overrides

As someone not far removed from running a private business, I am very sympathetic to the problems being experienced by program providers trying to keep their doors open. The bad economy has made it tough for those who provide services and for those who pay for services. To compound the difficulty by cutting off state funding is unnecessary, unfair, and unwise.

Governor Rendell seems to think it is simply a matter of turning the lights off when money runs out, and then turning them back on when funding is restored. He is right about the lights going off a lot of places in the days ahead, if funding is not restored very soon.

But he is very wrong if he expects that everyone will open up again.

Some people who survived the budget impasse of 2003 are not going to make it through this time, unless state funding shows up soon.

One reason is the troubled economy. The easy lines of credit that carried people through in years past are just not there now. And for people who can access credit, there is a reluctance to get overextended. Hard to fault anyone who does not want to bank on state government coming through eventually, because the difficulty of dealing with a record budget deficit is there for all to see.

Another concern is that life does not go on hold for the people using the services. If a shutdown occurs, they are forced to make other arrangements, or to find other placements. Once that happens, they are not all coming back to the original provider.

It is impossible for people back home to see any sense in state government trying to improve services by sacrificing service providers. They cannot see any sense because there is none, practically or economically.

As much as we would like to deliver a complete and responsible state budget today, there is still disagreement over what constitutes the most responsible approach. The best we can do today, then, is to make sure that some of our most vulnerable citizens and some of our most crucial service providers do not become casualties of the budget deadlock. By voting to restore funding, we prevent the probability of serious holes being ripped in the safety net.