File:Governor Wolf Budget Update, 9-16-2015.webm

Today is yet another startling example of how broken Harrisburg is.

Senator Corman, Senator Scarnati, Leader Reed and Speaker Turzai have wasted the last 3 months.

They have made it beyond clear through their inaction that the status quo and right-wing special interests are more important to them than our children and our schools and the future of Pennsylvania.

What Senator Corman said a short while ago is a complete misrepresentation of what I thought and hoped was real and honest progress to reach a comprehensive budget agreement.

Never in my life have I sat across from people thinking I am having an honest discussion, when in reality they are acting in bad faith.

Today I put on the table historic reforms to our pension and liquor system.

I proposed reforms to the pension system that included a 401K component. This plan would save more than $20 billion, $10 billion more than the Republican plan.

I also proposed historic reforms to the liquor system that would put under private management the operations of the wholesale and retail stores to the benefit of taxpayers and consumers.

You know what Republican leaders have done?

They have done nothing. They have continually sided with special interests and the embraced the failed policies of the past: a massive deficit, credit downgrades, underfunded schools and skyrocketing property taxes.

Republicans said they were coming to the meeting today with offers on education and sustainable revenues to balance our budget, but they put literally nothing on the table in response to my historic pension and liquor reforms.

Instead they chose to continue to protect oil and gas companies and held a press conference.

This is beyond pathetic.