HARRISBURG — With tempers at the state Capitol running high as a budget stalemate approaches the six-month mark, many Democrats are casting House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Marshall, as the main obstacle to having a deal.
Mr. Turzai allowed a vote on the House’s alternate budget to the compromise framework hammered out by the Wolf administration and party leaders, and he canceled sessions Friday and Saturday that many members hoped would result in a budget. Mr. Turzai, considered to be more conservative than House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, is increasingly becoming the focus as frustration grows over the impasse.
But many House GOP members say Mr. Turzai is speaking for a significant number of people in his caucus — House members who won’t vote for the tax increases Mr. Wolf is seeking. Republicans control both the House and Senate by large majorities; 31 to 19 in the Senate and 119 to 84 in the House.
“The idea of trying to make resistance to higher taxes something that only the speaker stands for ignores the fact that he was elected to his position by a unanimous vote of a House GOP caucus that as a whole, is adamantly against unnecessary tax hikes,” said Rep. Stephen Bloom, R-Cumberland.
“There is a large majority of our caucus who believe this is about taxes,” said Rep. Kristin Phillips Hill, R-York. “This has been about taxes from day one.”
Jeffrey Sheridan, the spokesman for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, has slammed the speaker as blocking a bipartisan budget deal. “After the actions of several Tea Party members of the caucus, led by Speaker Turzai, it is now clear that this impasse is on the House Republicans,” Mr. Sheridan said in a written statement.
A number of Democratic House members singled Mr. Turzai out as the impediment to an agreement at a news conference Friday.
The commonwealth has been without a state budget since Mr. Wolf vetoed a Republican-crafted budget sent to him by legislators June 30. Without state aid, the lack of a budget has reached crisis proportions for some social service agencies that have had to cut programs and let go of staff. School districts statewide have also had to borrow about $900 million.
The Republican-controlled state Senate last week approved a $30.78 billion budget — though not the tax package needed to pay for it — supported by Mr. Wolf, but the House then passed its own $30.26 billion plan, which Mr. Wolf opposes.
“We have legislation waiting for us to vote on,” said Rep. Ed Gainey, D-Lincoln-Lemington, one of a group of Democrats who questioned Mr. Turzai’s decision to cancel a planned session day Friday. “Yet, the House speaker decided not to hold session. It’s bewildering to me, especially when the impasse is wreaking havoc on social services, and schools are considering keeping their doors closed after the holidays. This is the height of irresponsibility.”
Turzai spokesman Jay Ostrich shot back in a text message: “Respectfully, that’s ironic given House Democrats have had no less than four chances to fully fund schools and human services and have not yet put up a single vote to do so,” referring to Republican efforts to pass stopgap budgets.
Democrats said most of their colleagues were ready to do a full budget deal as frustration among voters increases.
“We need to come together and put forth a budget,” said Rep. Paul Costa, D-Wilkins. “Unfortunately, there’s a handful of House Republicans along with the House speaker who are being obstructionists and turning Harrisburg into Washington, D.C., where we can’t seem to get anything done.”
But pinning responsibility for the ongoing impasse on any one person or party is too simplistic, some said.
“Anybody being singularly pointed out as the scapegoat isn’t a fair assessment of where we are today,” said Drew Crompton, the chief counsel for the Senate Republican caucus.
Steve Miskin, a House Republican caucus spokesman, said, “It’s ludicrous to try to blame any particular person for representing where the 119 members are.”
Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills said Mr. Turzai’s focus on liquor privatization has been “problematic for the budget process.” The speaker has been unsuccessfully pushing for full liquor privatization for several years, and the issue has become wrapped up in the current budget negotiations, along with pension changes desired by Senate Republicans.
The House was in session Tuesday; it did not vote on any budget-related bills.
Karen Langley contributed. Kate Giammarise: kgiammarise@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254 on Twitter @KateGiammarise.
First Published: December 16, 2015, 5:00 a.m.