HARRISBURG, July 7 – State Rep. Peter Schweyer issued the following statement regarding the bipartisan 2022/2023 state budget which passed the House of Representatives today.

“This budget features a truly historic increase in funding for public education; as such, students in every district will see more resources than they ever have before. But more importantly, by prioritizing our investment in the most at-risk school districts, we are actually leveling the playing field for all our kids regardless of their zip code.

“In addition, the legislature recognized the impact on learning due to the pandemic and has authorized additional funding for school districts to address our students’ mental health and school safety. These dollars will go a long way to help school districts to implement important programming for those significantly impacted by the changes forced on education by the pandemic.

“This has been my eighth budget as State Representative. And this is the first time I truly believe that we have turned a corner for the students, parents and professionals of the Allentown School District. For far too long we have spent just enough to avoid layoffs and keep the lights on, but today we are doing something very different: we are giving ASD a chance to actually add to our children’s education.

“As the parent of two ASD students, I know firsthand what these additional dollars will mean to the students and families in Allentown and I’m so very excited what our district can do with this historic investment.

“This budget invests in people in many ways beyond education spending. With more dollars for childcare and early childhood education, we are going to give kids a head start while making it easier for their parents to go to work.

“We are investing in affordable housing options for low-income people, increasing the amount of rebates for seniors through the Property Tax and Rent Rebate program and creating a low-income tax credit for working people.

“All the while we are able to offer a tax cut that will make Pennsylvania’s businesses more competitive while increasing our rainy day fund to help protect our finances in future years.

“This is a tremendous budget deal,” Schweyer said.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Thomas LeClair
House Democratic Communications Office

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