Josh Shapiro says Pa. lawmakers are ‘making progress’ on budget deal during Philly visit
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Philly to promote Beyond the Bars, a violence prevention program, as state budget talks continue to drag out in Harrisburg.
During a Friday visit to a West Philly community center, Gov. Josh Shapiro said state lawmakers are “making progress” in budget talks, although he refused to comment further on the content of the negotiations.
State legislators have already missed the budget deadline by more than a month and the pressure is on for Pennsylvania’s divided legislature to reach a compromise before SEPTA implements deep service cuts on Aug. 24.
“This is not easy work, finding common ground. But we’re working on it,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro was at the Community Education Center in University City to tout his investments in community safety programs and to meet with students and teachers from community-based music education initiative Beyond the Bars, which received grant funding from the state’s Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) program earlier this year.
He was joined by Democratic State Reps. Amen Brown, Danilo Burgos, Morgan Cephas, and Joseph Hohenstein, along with Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier.
Although Shapiro called law enforcement a “critical piece” of his gun violence prevention strategy, he said it wasn’t “the only answer” and stressed the need for a well-funded, “multipronged approach.”
This year, Shapiro’s administration invested $85 million in VIP grants to more than 130 projects across Pennsylvania, including 64 in Philadelphia. Beyond the Bars received $285,000 to expand its operation to 56 music labs, located in schools, youth shelters, trauma clinics, and community centers around the city.
The governor’s proposed state budget included a $10 million increase for VIP, along with another $10 million for an after-school learning program.
But when asked about the budget’s progress in Harrisburg, Shapiro refused to go into detail.
“I’m not gonna negotiate the budget here in this setting,” he said. “I think we all have enough respect for one another to keep our conversations in that room.
“The one thing I can tell you we’ve all agreed on, with absolute certainty, is that we all have to compromise, and that’s what we’re doing,” he added.
In response to questions about the status of SEPTA funding, Shapiro said mass transit is “vital” for “the economy of this entire commonwealth.”
He urged any attendees concerned about SEPTA’s future to call the office of GOP State Sen. Joe Picozzi, who represents Northeast Philadelphia. Picozzi recently co-introduced a bill package that would put SEPTA under increased oversight, but with no additional funding attached.
Because of the state’s divided legislature, Shapiro said, finding common ground is “critically important.”
“It’s taken longer than I would like, but I think we’re gonna get there,” he said.