To Buffer Inflation, PA Governor Renews Call For $2,000 Payments

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is again calling on the Republican-led General Assembly to pass his $500 million PA Opportunity Program, which would send $2,000 checks directly to Pennsylvanians.

“This money will make a life-changing difference for families in communities across the commonwealth, providing a much-needed buffer against prices that are artificially and temporarily higher due to inflation,” said Gov. Wolf in renewing his call. “Let’s put this cash back in the pockets of Pennsylvanians, to help cover the higher costs of gas, groceries, and everything else.

"Why on earth wouldn’t we act to do all of that, when we have the funds necessary to make this investment in the people of Pennsylvania, right now,” Gov. Wolf said. “I am once again calling on Republican leaders in the General Assembly to send a bill to my desk to help the people of
Pennsylvania.”

Through the PA Opportunity Program, Pennsylvania householders with an income of $80,000 or less would receive direct payments of up to $2,000.

First introduced in February with a proposal to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the program now proposes using general funds and has the support of Democratic members who have submitted co-sponsorship memos in the House and Senate signaling their intent to reintroduce legislation to fund the program.

The Republican-led General Assembly, said Wolf, chose not to appropriate funding for the program during budget negotiations.

State Rep. Sara Innamorato is one of the Democrats supporting the direct payment program.

“Like the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, Pennsylvania’s recovery from the COVID-19 recession has been unbalanced, slower and less complete for working families and low-income folks than for wealthier Pennsylvanians,” said Rep. Innamorato. “The PA Opportunity Program would help complete Pennsylvania’s recovery with a payment of up to $2,000 for working families across Pennsylvania who often cannot access many of our social safety net programs. Working people and families would greatly benefit from this much-needed support to cover the costs of childcare, groceries, back-to-school materials, and other basic household needs.”

The GOP-led legislature has been against the idea of stimulus checks arguing they would drive inflation.

“The fact is Gov. Wolf abandoned this irrational ‘free money’ handout idea during budget negotiations because it lacked commonsense," said Erica Clayton Wright, Senate Republican spokesperson. "This ‘free money’ concept perpetuated by Gov. Wolf not only creates a false sense of hope for Pennsylvanians, but also says a lot about his political will
to advance ideas that only add to higher costs and inflation for Pennsylvanians already struggling to get by,"

Wright said that out of control spending by the D.C. swamp has led to higher gas and food prices creating unnecessary financial pressures for all Pennsylvanians."Gov. Wolf’s solution is to continue policies that add to the downward spiral of our nation’s economy," she said.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly, she said, has taken a different approach – "Putting Pennsylvania on a Path to Prosperity."

"The Pennsylvania General Assembly has held the line on the irrational spending schemes put forth by Democrats for more than a decade, and have instead focused on policies that will help Pennsylvanians weather economic headwinds and prepare to prosper," said Wright.

"This year’s budget afforded us the opportunity to transition out of the 'spend because we have money policies' presented by the Democrats to allowing Pennsylvanians to keep their hard earned money," said Wright. "We are allowing Pennsylvanians to keep the money they have earned rather than allow government to collect and redistribute it."

The budget enacted this year, she said, not only cuts the corporate net income tax to make the state more business friendly, it also included one-time bonus rebates for those who qualify for the Property Tax and Rent Rebate and LIHEAP programs.

"It also put more money in a program that serves as the lifeline to food banks to feed the hungry and created one to help low-income working parents pay for childcare costs," said Wright.