PITTSBURGH, Sept. 11, 2009 – State Sen. Wayne D. Fontana (D-Allegheny) today provided the following statement on today’s proposed budget compromise agreement.
“While I am encouraged by this overdue compromise agreement, I still intend on thoroughly reviewing all of the details before I commit to supporting the proposal.
“Based on today’s announcement, I am pleased that this budget fills a $3.5 billion budget hole without raising any broad-based taxes. The fact that this budget spends less money than last year’s budget is another encouraging sign demonstrating that government is tightening its belt – just like so many local families have been forced to do as our nation works its way out of this recession.
“While I will undoubtedly disagree with many facets of this spending plan, I recognize that difficult funding decisions had to be made to reach this compromise. I also believe it is imperative that we bring this lengthy impasse to an end so our schools and other organizations that rely on state support can accurately complete their own financial plans for this year.
“Further delay will only cause more harm and human suffering. It is time to move forward. I am hopeful this agreement will enable us to bring this budget stalemate to an end.”