State could cut grants to shave pieces off of $2 billion deficet
HARRISBURG – With the state facing a budget deficit that some predict could reach $2 billion, one lawmaker is proposing eliminating funding for anything not owned or operated by the state or mandated by state law. That means state grants to fund research at Temple, Pitt and other universities, to buy books for the local library and to fund economic development initiatives in communities could be cut.
“It’s radical, but we’re $2 billion in debt and how do you continue to justify” some of these expenses, said Victor Lescovitz (D-Burgettstown), who presented his idea in a letter to budget officials in Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration. The new governor will present his budget plan next month. Under state law, the General Assembly must approve a balanced budget by June 30.
“I like the Carnegies. I like the Franklin museums. I like the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State, but they’re not owned and operated by the state,” Lescovitz said. “We have state-owned institutions, like Slippery Rock and California University and places like that.”
Lescovitz’s idea is catching on.
“I think there are many supporters of that,” said Stephen Miskin, spokesman for House Majority Leader John Perzel (R-Philadelphia). “This is definitely a year for an austere budget.”
Rendell, however, believes more spending is the answer to Pennsylvania’s economic woes, his spokesman said.
The state’s budget for the current fiscal year is about $21 billion. About $19.5 billion was paid for with tax revenues, budget officials said. Another $1.5 billion came from one-time money sources, which won’t be available this year.
Officials estimate that revenues may grow this year to about $19.9 billion, but even if spending remained the same, the state still would face a $1.1 billion shortfall. Officials say it is likely that spending requirements will increase by about $1 billion next year, meaning a $2 billion shortfall.
Lescovitz said his proposed cuts could save the state billions of dollars. If any money was left over after all of the state’s expenses were covered, colleges, libraries, businesses and everyone else who received the axe could compete for the remaining funds, he said.
“Engorged bureaucracy has helped contribute to Pennsylvania’s catastrophic deficit, and the time is now, at the beginning of the administration, to eliminate the excessive waste plaguing state government,” Lescovitz wrote in a letter last week to Budget Secretary Michael Masch. “Only those services directly run and operated by government – i.e., state institutions, mental health and mental retardation programs, state police, corrections, regulatory [operations] and education, basic to the integrity of the Commonwealth – should be considered in the 2003-04 budget.”
Lescovitz is particularly interested in cutting aid to businesses.
“Businesses receive billions each year in federal and state grants and tax cuts, and yet Pennsylvania has for years ranked at the bottom of the nation in job creation,” he said. “Currently, we rank 49th in job creation. How much further down can we go?”
But don’t expect Rendell to follow all of the advice of his fellow Democrat.
“Pennsylvania is currently losing 1,000 jobs per day, and nearly 400,000 Pennsylvanians are unemployed at this time,” Rendell spokesman Tom Hickey said. “The governor does not believe that now is the time to stop investing in our communities for the future. He thinks now is the time to invest at unprecedented levels in Pennsylvania’s progress.”