HARRISBURG – Sen. Mike Regan (R-31) today issued the following statement after Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered his annual budget address Tuesday to a joint session of the state House and Senate:
“The governor’s budget proposal reads as though he is living in a fantasyland, while we are living in the real world. We are dealing with a finite amount of taxpayer dollars. It is our responsibility to spend that limited money conservatively while ensuring all basic needs are covered. One of those basic needs is protecting our kids.
“The thing I found most disturbing is that amidst his radical spending, the governor actually proposed to cut school safety and security spending by half, down to $50 million. There was no talk of him cutting his security budget – $15 million annually to the Pennsylvania State Police detail that surrounds him – yet he’s willing to cut the detail that protects the kids in school.
“Along with rejecting the governor’s slash of school safety dollars, I call on the House to pass Senate Bill 907, which is before them and would require armed security in every school district in the commonwealth. I then implore the governor to sign that bill.
“It’s important we focus on protecting our students, much like the governor protects himself and we protect ourselves in the Capitol building.”
Video of Regan’s response to the governor’s budget address is available here.
Regan stated in his recorded remarks that there have been 200 kids killed in schools since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. There have been more than 200 fatal school shootings of students in kindergarten through the 12th grade since the Sandy Hook tragedy, with nearly 400 individuals killed in those shootings.
More information about Regan is available by visiting his website at www.SenatorRegan.com.
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