Harrisburg, PA − October 21, 2025 − Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti (D-Montgomery/Delaware) today released the statement below in response to the Senate vote on Senate Bill 160:
“Today’s actions on the Senate Floor were telling for more than a few reasons.
Senate Republicans cannot get their house in order, and it’s impacting every corner of Pennsylvania: driving our schools into debt, denying county workers paychecks, and threatening the human services our community members rely on. Senate Republican leadership said on the record that their caucus only has the votes to flat fund the budget from last year, which they know will not pass the House nor receive bipartisan support. And with the ever-increasing cost of living, a flat funded budget is a slashed budget.
Instead of working across the aisle to find votes for a budget that could pass through both chambers of the General Assembly, Senate Republicans continue to act unilaterality. Pennsylvanians deserve better.
At a time when we are living through a Republican federal government shutdown with no end in sight, dramatic inflation, and consumers are bearing the brunt of Trump’s tariffs, Pennsylvanians need a government that actually works for them, which includes investing their taxpayer dollars back into our communities. Unfortunately, the proposal brought up on the Senate floor today failed to deliver.
At its core, the state budget proposal that Senate Republicans brought up for a vote today is an insult to Pennsylvanians who have been waiting over 100 days for a state budget. I voted NO.
To my Republican colleagues: it’s time to step up and start delivering for your constituents. Democrats are ready to work with you to get this done for every Pennsylvanian.”
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