HARRISBURG — The University of Pittsburgh will receive its $151 million state appropriation after all, thwarting an effort by some House Republicans to penalize the top research institution for conducting fetal tissue research.
Last week, almost all House Republicans supported an amendment by a vote of 108-92 to require Pitt to halt its fetal tissue research on voluntary abortions if it wants to receive its state appropriation.
It took House Republicans more than a week to agree on a funding plan.
House Republican leaders attempted to bridge this divide on Wednesday by moving funding for Pitt and its three other state-related universities into a different bill. They also added a prohibition for any of these universities to conduct fetal tissue to a separate bill focused on expanding broadband access that’s expected to die in the Senate.
By separating these issues, House Republicans could advance funding for the four state-related universities by the necessary two-thirds vote from the chamber — while still allowing members to vote to stop fetal tissue research.
Each of the state’s four state-related universities — Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — use their annual state appropriations totaling more than $580 million to fund an in-state tuition discount for Pennsylvania residents.
Wednesday’s actions won’t be the end of this issue for Pitt, although it was the largest hurdle. While they essentially reversed last week’s successes scored by members of the state’s Pro-Life Caucus, Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, said that it wasn’t for nothing.
Part of the agreement among House Republicans includes codifying in the state budget deal that these dollars are only spent on in-state tuition discounts, creating performance-based metrics for universities to receive future appropriations, and adding more meetings between state-related university leaders and legislators each year, Mr. Nelson said. Much of these changes will be unveiled Thursday, a House spokesman said.
“This is a baby-step gain, and Pennsylvania is a baby-step state,” Mr. Nelson said.
He authored legislation to divest from Pitt and send those dollars directly to students to spend at a school in Pennsylvania of their choice.
Mr. Nelson and nine other southwestern Pennsylvania Republicans still opposed funding Pitt as part of this year’s budget. At least seven other local Republicans changed their vote from last week and supported Pitt’s funding, including Rep. Carrie DelRosso, R-Oakmont. Ms. DelRosso is the Republican lieutenant governor nominee and shares the ticket with ultra-conservative and anti-abortion gubernatorial nominee Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin.
Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, chairs the state House’s Pro-Life Caucus. After Wednesday’s vote, Ms. Rapp said she was disappointed that more of her colleagues did not oppose funding Pitt.
The bill advanced with a 145-55 vote, with Republican members casting each of the no votes. There are 115 members of the Pro-Life Caucus, Ms. Rapp said.
“It’s very discouraging when these types of votes come up and members who run as being pro-life, they get the pro-life endorsements from pro-life organizations, but when it comes up for a vote,” and they don’t support it, Ms. Rapp said.
This issue stretched into a rift between House GOP leadership and some of the most conservative members of their caucus after House Republican leaders allowed their members to advance its earlier amendment to put Pitt’s funding on the line if they want to keep conducting fetal tissue research — and then inevitably backtracking it on Wednesday.
Ms. Rapp said these legislative maneuvers cause “mistrust” between leadership and their members.
“You want to be able to trust your leadership,” Ms. Rapp said. “We vote for them. But we vote for them to be honest to us.”
Rep. David Zimmerman, R-Lancaster, pointed to Pitt and local lawmakers for failing to reach an agreement over this issue in the time since last year’s budget vote.
“Those conversations, they should’ve happened long before we got to the budget time of year,” Mr. Zimmerman said.
House Republicans’ ire at Pitt has been growing for years. It started among a number of anti-abortion members and vocal anti-abortion advocacy groups — most notably by the Pennsylvania Family Institute.
Since then, the disdain for Pitt has spread to more members for issues beyond its fetal tissue research, such as former Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg’s role on the state’s five-member reapportionment committee. Mr. Nordenberg voted to advance new legislative maps that drew some Republicans into the same district or lost their voter registration advantage. The House maps were approved by a 4-1 vote, with Mr. Nordenberg and Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward joining the committee’s two Democrats in support of the maps.
Before the House vote Wednesday, Ms. Ward told reporters that securing funding for Pitt was a “priority.”
Gillian McGoldrick: gmcgoldrick@post-gazette.com or on Twitter @gill_mcgoldrick.
First Published: July 7, 2022, 1:31 a.m.
