State senator Joe Pittman joined other Republican Senate Leaders in expressing their opinion on Governor Josh Shapiro’s announcement of refinancing about $1.15 billion in General Obligation refunding bonds.
Shapiro said yesterday that the refinancing will save the average taxpayer over $71 million over the life of the bonds. The refinancing follows the news of Pennsylvania’s credit ratings from Moody’s, Fitch and S&P being the highest in the state’s history.
After the statement was made, Majority Leader Pittman along with Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin issued their own comments, saying it was some good news, but that the strong financial position the state has is due to Senate Republicans fighting against the spending policies of Shapiro and his predecessor, Governor Tom Wolf. They also state that Shapiro’s budget proposal has a spending increase of $3.6 billion over last year, but has no realistic way to close the state’s multi-billion-dollar budget deficit. They vow to continue to fight to reach a responsible budget agreement and keep the state in a strong fiscal position.
The budget is due by the end of the month.
