Where Is Gov. Shapiro's Leadership on the State Budget?

Gov. Josh Shapiro once said, “Leaders have a responsibility to speak truth.” Yet, truth be told, the governor’s lack of leadership on this year’s state budget is concerning.

His proposed budget didn’t add up – literally. Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office reported that Shapiro’s revenue estimates exaggerated the amount of tax dollars gained from the governor’s plans to tax expanded gambling and legalized cannabis – both of which the Pennsylvania General Assembly has not passed. As a result, this proposed budget would exacerbate the Commonwealth’s structural deficit, with a $4.9 billion revenue shortfall, which the good people of Pennsylvania will pay for through massive statewide tax hikes.

The Pennsylvania Senate is ready to come to the table. They are focused on fiscal responsibility and reaching a deal that the commonwealth can afford. The Senate has acted in good faith and showed bipartisanship within their chamber.

Meanwhile, the state House stands in stark contrast. Rather than hold the governor accountable, the House majority has resorted to partisan grandstanding, passing sensationalist bills that have no chance of becoming law. Assuredly, bills to legalize marijuana gin up salacious headlines. But they achieve little to address Pennsylvanians’ real-world concerns – from affording their monthly electric bills to educating their kids.

What Pennsylvanians need and deserve are solutions that rise above our partisan differences. Though rare these days, we have faith that bipartisanship remains a realistic possibility in Pennsylvania.

Case in point: Senate Bill (SB) 10. SB 10, if passed, would establish the Lifeline Scholarships Program, also known as the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS). This program would create educational savings accounts for students attending Pennsylvania’s lowest-performing schools to cover the costs of attending a better school.

SB 10 aptly demonstrates how both sides of the aisle can find common ground and work together. The bill’s main cosponsors, state Sens. Judy Ward and Anthony Williams, are a Republican and a Democrat, respectively, working together to empower Pennsylvania students stuck in chronically failing schools. Plus, the Senate Education Committee passed the bill out of committee with a bipartisan 8–3 vote.

And this bipartisan spirit isn’t limited to Harrisburg. Recent polling suggests that a robust statewide majority – seven out of ten Pennsylvania voters – support PASS/Lifeline Scholarships. This broad support transcends partisan affiliations, racial identities, and geographic regions because every child deserves an excellent education.

Even Gov. Josh Shapiro supported this popular program as a candidate. He famously appeared on national television, promising “every child of God” a high-quality education.

Yet, when the opportunity came to turn PASS/Lifeline Scholarships into law, the governor fumbled. During the 2023–24 budget negotiations, the governor vetoed the program from the general appropriations, sending the budget process into a monthslong tailspin. And instead of taking responsibility, he blamed the “divided legislature” and called the program “unfinished business.”

That’s not leadership.

As a former state representative and the former state Senate parliamentarian, we reflect on more than a decade of combined legislative experience. We have witnessed firsthand the power of effective leadership when the governor takes initiative, and the chambers unite to serve the people. There comes a moment when posturing must give way to action, and that moment is now.

The governor must step up and lead. He must rally his own party in the state House and reach across the aisle in the state Senate to achieve meaningful reforms that benefit everyday Pennsylvanians.

There is no shortage of pressing issues that demand collaboration: education, energy, tax and spending policies, regulatory reform, and welfare reform – just to name a few. The people of Pennsylvania deserve a government that not only turns good ideas into meaningful action but also spends their tax dollars responsibly, achieving progress and prosperity without compromising economic stability.

Statewide, people share the same priorities: securing family-sustaining jobs, ensuring their kids receive a quality education, keeping electricity and utility costs affordable, and protecting communities. The time is now for the governor to step up and lead on these issues. We stand behind policies that drive real solutions, turning these aspirations into lasting progress and prosperity for the good people of our great commonwealth.

Stephen Bloom, a former state representative, and Megan Martin, a former state Senate parliamentarian, work for the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.