Are the Republicans Ready to Gut Higher Education to Avoid a Severance Tax on Natural Gas Drilling?
As we enter the third week of an impasse over funding the 2017-2018 Pennsylvania state budget, an astonishing possibility has come into view: the House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike and Turzai and Majority Leader Dave Reed, appear to be prepared to block funding for the four state-related universities – Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University – rather than agree to the Governor’s demand that they raise $600 to $800 million in new recurring revenues. Governor Wolf and the Republican-led legislature have apparently agreed to a number of one-time revenue measures to close the budget deficit – proposals like borrowing from other funds or selling licenses for new gaming sites – that only bring in revenues in one year. But the Republicans, particularly in the House, appear unwilling to agree to Governor Wolf’s insistence that the fiscal health of the commonwealth requires new recurring tax revenues… Continue reading