February 12th, 2009

Yesterday in Pennsylvania, Vice President Joe Biden announced that although all the details of the stimulus package still aren’t worked out, he believes that the state will recieve $16 billion for the next two fiscal years.  This money will be used primarily for bridge and road improvements, and mass transit projects, which will create an estimated 45,000 jobs, and will also provide additonal money for unemployment and food stamps. 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on the questions within the stimulus package that remain unanswered for PA:

One is how much Mr. Rendell will get for state general fund expenditures for the fiscal year starting July 1. The initial House-passed stimulus bill contained $79 billion for all states, with Pennsylvania to get nearly $1 billion. The Senate version had $49 billion, and Mr. Rendell warned Tuesday that “moderate” cuts he has proposed in state spending for 2009-10 would turn into “severe” cuts if the state had to absorb a $1 billion reduction over two years.

The $29 billion budget for fiscal 2009-10 that Mr. Rendell proposed last week “was based on the House version,” Rendell aide Steve Crawford said. Without the House version’s extra money, the state budget could face a $500 million hole, which could mean $20 million in spending allocations for hospitals, $50 million in cuts for nursing homes and $70 million in reductions in subsidies for basic education. The governor has already proposed nearly $1 billion in cuts, including eliminating 100 programs.