childcare budget update aug 3, 2009

[CEG] Budget update- vote no to Kotick amendment

As you know, the Governor has asked the House to vote yes to SB 850 and send it to him for signature, where he will blueline about 90% of the budget to allow state workers to get paid but continue budget talks.

Rep. Nick Kotick (D-Allegheny) has put forth a $27.5 billion budget amendment for SB850 that mirrors the Civera amendment for early education (fully funds Head Start Supplemental but maintains cuts to PA Pre-K Counts and child care) and adds in a few more items without a PIT increase. Rep. Sam Smith said House Republicans worked with a handful of Blue Dogs, with input from the Senate Republicans, to put together their latest proposal.

The concern (not sure how likely this is) is that this amendment could pass the House and Senate and have the votes to override any Governor veto. Even if there are not enough votes to push this amendment through, it will delay the final negotiations yet again.

Because the amendment was filed late, there would need to be a 2/3 majority vote in the House to suspend the rules to allow the amendment to be voted on.

Please tell your representative to vote no to the Kotick amendment:

• The Kotick amendment is devastating for children and families in Pennsylvania. Approximately 15,000 children would lose early education services, and nearly 2,000 early education jobs would be lost. We're seeing the impact of these cuts right now, with early learning programs starting to shut down and PA Pre-K Counts programs unable to begin preparations for the fall. Parents need these services to work and our children need these services to become our future workforce.

• The Kotick amendment will only delay final budget negotiations. The early education field and other services dependent on state funds are already beginning to shut down, impacting jobs and our economy. It is time for a real negotiation.