Sen. Vincent J. Fumo
 

District Office

1208 Tasker Street
Phila, PA 19148
215-468-3866

Harrisburg Office

545 Main Capitol
Hbg, PA 17120
717-787-5662

 





  

_____________________NEWS RELEASE

State Senator
VINCENT J. FUMO

1st Senatorial District
Democratic Appropriations Committee Chairman
Room 545 Main Capitol, Harrisburg PA 17120
Internet Website: www.fumo.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  GARY TUMA
PHONE: 717-787-5662 

NEW 2007-08 BUDGET A WINNER FOR ALL OF PENNSYLVANIA, FUMO SAYS

     July 12, 2007 -- With state Senator Vince Fumo (D-Philadelphia) helping to resolve the final issues between Gov. Ed Rendell and Legislative Republicans, top state officials reached an agreement on a budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year on Monday night. It still must be approved by the full Senate and House of Representatives, and be signed by the Governor. Those actions are expected to occur within the next several days.

     The deal ended an impasse of more than a week, as the state went without an approved spending blueprint since the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1. By July 9, the day before the agreement was struck, Rendell was forced to furlough nearly 25,000 state workers and shut down many state services.
    
     Fumo says the new $27.3 billion state budget proposal is "a win-win situation" for all concerned.

     Here are some highlights:
 
     --Education -- $200 million in new or increased funding for pre-kindergarten, full-day kindergarten and high school laptop computers.

     --Roads and bridges -- $400 million for 2007-08, more (growing with  inflation) in succeeding years.

     --Mass transit -- $350 million in 2007-08, more (growing with inflation) in succeeding years.
 
     --Nurse practitioners/dental hygenists/midwives -- expanding their duties to provide health services to underserved areas of the state.

     Passing the budget was made easier by a budget surplus of 650 million dollars for fiscal 2006-07. Fumo attributes the surplus to a healthy state economy spurred on by economic development programs that have been enacted over the past few years. That allowed for a $27.3 billion final budget, $300 million more than the budget approved by the Senate on June 20th. The rest of the surplus will roll over into the 2007-08 budget.

Click here to listen to Sen. Fumo's general comments about the state budget.

Click here to listen to Sen. Fumo's comments on funding for education, energy and transportation

Click here to listen to Sen. Fumo's comments on the budget containing no tax increases.

Click here to listen to Sen. Fumo's comments about the state budget surplus.

Click here to listen to Sen. Fumo's comments about reasons the budget was not passed on time.

# # #