FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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House Democrats Release Statement on Budget Agreement

HARRISBURG, Sept. 18 - House Democratic leaders released the following statements today regarding the joint announcement that an agreement has been reached on the 2009-10 state budget:

"With this budget we have cut spending to levels lower than last year, while maintaining programs that are critical to Pennsylvania’s future, including education and economic development," said Speaker of the House Keith McCall, D-Carbon. "Pennsylvanians deserve no less than a fiscally and morally responsible budget, which this agreement will provide."

 "This budget agreement holds true to our commitment to restrain spending, while still protecting the people behind the lines of this budget," said House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne. "From Day 1, we have said this budget must adequately fund our children’s education at the state level to avoid shifting the burden to local property taxpayers. And we have remained steadfast that we must properly fund critical programs, such as children’s health care, long-term living for seniors, and needed services for veterans and individuals with disabilities."

"This has been a long and arduous process for all Pennsylvanians. We will have ample time in the coming weeks to analyze what happened this budget year and to learn from it," said Dwight Evans, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "Right now, what's most important is that we get the budget adopted. To that end, we will work quickly to prepare the report for the Conference Committee so we can move forward to pass this legislation."

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