* Taking a page from their big brothers in Congress, the Republicans in the legislature have settled for obstruction and stagnation instead of trying to the solve the state’s myriad of fiscal issues.
* [Wagner] argued that his vote to “shut it down,” as he was quoted as saying, was simply a matter of holding the governor and the unemployment office accountable. That’s nonsense. His grandstanding on this issue is fueled by political ambition, nothing more.
* The bill had widespread support – as we mentioned, almost unprecedented bipartisan support in these polarized times – and it would be more than fair to say that Sen. Wagner torpedoed it for political reasons.
York Daily Record: Wagner’s grandstanding is no way to govern
By The Editorial Board – November 28, 2016
Among the biggest problems plaguing the Commonwealth is the fact that our legislators often place politics above governing.
When it comes to making decisions that affect the lives of Pennsylvanians, our legislators often place much more value on the political capital to be won rather than whether the proposal under consideration would make the lives of those they have sworn to govern better.
It has played out fairly predictably ever since Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf was elected and has had to serve with a Republican-dominated legislature.
Taking a page from their big brothers in Congress, the Republicans in the legislature have settled for obstruction and stagnation instead of trying to the solve the state’s myriad of fiscal issues.
But then, week before last, the legislature has a chance to do something to show that it is interested in governing responsibly.
Gov. Wolf had asked the legislature to approve $55.7 million for the state’s unemployment call centers, to modernize the centers and make up for cuts in federal funding. The money would help replace an ancient computer system – the call centers still used a mainframe computer – and make the system more efficient. The goal was to make the system easier to navigate for those who found themselves in need of the agency’s services.
The money was also necessary to keep the call centers fully staffed. Without the money, the centers would be forced to lay off hundreds of employees – the figure appears to be 450, according to reports – leading to the irony of workers at the unemployment office having to file for unemployment and finding the process more difficult because they were laid off.
It seemed like a no-brainer. The bill sailed through the House, 175-13, an almost unheard of margin usually reserved for naming an official state fossil or infectious virus.
The bill then went to the Senate.
And there, it died.
Senate Republicans, in a closed-door session, cancelled a vote on the measure.
Leading the charge, according to reports, was state Sen. Scott Wagner, a Spring Garden Township Republican.
His reasoning? In 2013, the legislature approved a four-year funding plan to modernize the system, that after the federal government criticized the state for delays in paying benefits, and Sen. Wagner believed that not enough progress has been made.
And to make his point, he figured it would be a good idea to lay off hundreds of people.
Wonderful.
Sen. Wagner, in case you haven’t heard, plans to run for governor in 2018, probably against Gov. Wolf, if he gets past the primary. He argued that his vote to “shut it down,” as he was quoted as saying, was simply a matter of holding the governor and the unemployment office accountable.
That’s nonsense.
His grandstanding on this issue is fueled by political ambition, nothing more. He saw an opportunity to make some political points, and he took it.
Yes, that’s what politicians do.
But it’s not what people who are interested in governing do.
The bill had widespread support – as we mentioned, almost unprecedented bipartisan support in these polarized times – and it would be more than fair to say that Sen. Wagner torpedoed it for political reasons.
And it would also be fair to say that, as an opening move in the gubernatorial campaign, it gives an indication how a potential Gov. Wagner would govern, or choose not to.
Read the editorial here.
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