HARRISBURG – Nothing has been done since Governor Tom Wolf three weeks ago initiated a $145 million transfer to be appropriated by the state legislature into grants for businesses affected by the pandemic.
Now, the governor and state Democratic leaders are urging their Republican colleagues to act now, “Right now, we have this $145 million. It can go out as soon as its appropriated. Republican leaders so far, haven’t acted. We all need them to act now because businesses need the help, and helping businesses is a priority for me and Democrats in the General Assembly.”
The transfer requires legislative authorization to appropriate the funding to make grants for businesses. House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) says those grants are ready to be distributed, they just need the funding, but time’s running out, “We only have six legislative session days before the budget hearings begin. So its imperative that we take this up when we return January 25. We can offset some of the economic damage that’s been done to our local businesses, especially our restaurants, our small bars that have been hit by hospitality challenges.”
Governor Wolf also continued criticizing Republicans for focusing their efforts over the past few weeks on ‘spreading disinformation’ about the 2020 General Election.
Pa. House Republicans say Gov. Wolf has not engaged with Republican leadership and continues to make unilateral, overbroad and inconsistent orders in his efforts to contain the virus.
