West Central PA News

Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman and Senate Transportation Committee Chair Wayne Langerholc, Jr. issued a statement addressing Governor Josh Shapiro's decision to redirect $153 million in federal highway and bridge capital funds. The leaders expressed their concerns over the governor's approach to transit funding.

"Our Senate Republican Caucus has made it clear from the outset that we will examine transit funding that makes sense and can be justified to commonwealth taxpayers who are being asked to pay the bill," they stated. They emphasized their commitment to prudent fiscal management.

In July, a bipartisan agreement was reached for temporary funding of SEPTA and other transit agencies with $80.5 million. This funding required re-evaluation of delivery models due to decreased ridership attributed to COVID-19, remote work trends, and safety issues within the system.

Pittman and Langerholc criticized what they see as politicization of infrastructure projects beyond SEPTA's reach, noting that many affected areas are in Republican districts. They argued that "the Democrats’ mindset is we can just spend more money on transit regardless of where it comes from."

The statement also highlighted concerns about SEPTA's budgeting practices relying on unfunded proposals: "We would be hard-pressed to find businesses in the commonwealth that operate on this type of budgeting principle."

The leaders underscored the importance of balancing transit funding with infrastructure needs: "Transit funding is one side of a very large coin... Simply throwing more money at the problem without addressing the root causes will only further burden taxpayers."

They concluded by calling for a comprehensive review of SEPTA’s delivery model: "We remain committed to common sense reform with stakeholder input that benefits all commonwealth taxpayers."