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Pennsylvania House and Senate Republican leaders voiced strong opposition to Governor Josh Shapiro's proposed $53.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-27, characterizing it as fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable.
The budget proposal, unveiled Tuesday, represents a $2.7 billion increase in spending, or 5.4% over the current fiscal year. Republican lawmakers expressed particular concern about the plan to withdraw $4.6 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund.
House Republican Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford/Fulton) criticized the proposal, saying it "spends too much, grows government too much and relies too much on unsustainable sources of revenue." Topper also expressed concern about what he called a "$100 million slush fund that obscures the lines of federalism," according to a statement released by the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus.
House Republican Whip Tim O'Neal (R-Washington) added that the proposal "is irresponsible and will contribute to rising costs across the state," arguing that Pennsylvania cannot "continue to rely on new taxes and accounting tricks to fill in the gaps."
Senate Republican leaders echoed these concerns. Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward warned that this is "the fourth budget from Gov. Shapiro that spends more than we take in as a commonwealth," while Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Scott Martin argued that approving "a spending increase of this magnitude" would saddle "hardworking Pennsylvania families... with billions of dollars in new taxes next year at a time when they're still dealing with affordability concerns driven by Biden-era inflation," according to a statement on Senator Martin's website.
The growth in spending comes primarily from the Department of Human Services (nearly a $1.4 billion increase) and the Department of Education (more than a $900 million increase). The Department of Corrections would see a $140 million increase despite the closure of two state correctional facilities.
House Republican Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) noted that the governor's proposal is "just the start of the budget process" and looked forward to "three weeks of budget hearings to review this budget line-by-line."
Senate Republicans credited their own efforts to limit spending increases and enact pro-growth policies over the past three years as the reason Shapiro's budget did not include a broad-based tax increase this year.
State Treasurer and Gubernatorial Candidate, Stacy Garrity also voiced her concerns. Garrity joined RJ Harris this morning listen now: