HARRISBURG – Sen. Elder Vogel, Jr. (R-47), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said today the Senate will closely examine Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget plan for fiscal stability.
The $51.5 billion budget plan Shapiro presented to the legislature today would increase state spending by $3.6 billion, an increase of 7.5% over the current year’s budget.
“We have worked hard in recent years to build up reserves to guard against future tax increases. But the governor’s spending plan undoes this progress and would leave a $27.3 billion hole in the state’s finances in five years,” Vogel said.
The bulk of the new spending – about $2 billion – is proposed for human services programs. The budget also proposes to increase funding for Basic Education Funding by $75 million and the Ready-to-Learn Block Grant Program by $526 million.
The governor’s budget plan also did not include any new revenues or expenditures related to his new energy plan, leaving Pennsylvanians in the dark about how it would impact their household budgets, grid reliability or the state’s finances.
In the weeks ahead, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a series of hearings to closely examine the spending plan to determine how it can be improved. The hearings will begin Feb. 18 and run through March 6.
CONTACT: Heather Burke, 717-787-3076