 If you needed any any reminder today is a startling example of how broken Harrisburg is This is really ridiculous Senators Corman and Skarnati leader Reed speaker Terzai They have just basically said today. We've just wasted three months. I have been here I have been here every day, but one day since I was inaugurated in January. I have not taken any time off We have wasted three months They made it beyond clear through their inaction that they take the interests of special interests Above the interests of school children and schools and Pennsylvania's future that is absolutely unacceptable to me What senator Corman said in his press conference as I understand it a few minutes ago It's just completely a misrepresentation of what happened today never in my life And I've been in negotiations throughout my adult life. I have never been in negotiations like this today I put on the table historic reforms on pensions and liquor Pensions and liquor two things that they say are very important to them when pensions I put into place a plan that had a 401k component I put into place a plan or on the table a plan that would save over 20 billion dollars I Did that I also put on the table a plan that would send to a private manager the liquor stores Whole sale and retail I put that on the table today and what did I get in return nothing? I got nothing on severance tax nothing I got nothing on education nothing I got nothing on property tax relief and I got nothing I got nothing on how we're going to actually balance this budget We're going to continue to have the credit downgrades We've had because we're not doing anything else differently than we've done. It's a status quo It's what we've been doing over the past again. It's redux. I'm not going to stand for it I don't think the people of Pennsylvania should stand for it. This is beyond pathetic and I think we need to change We need to move forward. Let me turn this over to senator Jay Costa who's going to give his own He was at the meeting this morning, too Well, thank you very much governor Thank you all for being here today and let me first start up by saying that I want to applaud the governor for having the courage to Put on the table what he's deemed and we agree our historic reforms and two of the major areas where our colleagues in a Republican Party want us to address before we get to a budget solution that is pensions and wanted spirit modernization or privatization With respect to the pension, let me be clear These proposals that the governor has put on the table are things are very difficult for our members to be able to sit there and say We want to do this but we recognize that we at a point in time where it's Imperative that we sit down and have serious and honest negotiations about what needs to be done We recognize that we have folks in education human services community and other throughout this Commonwealth That need to get a budget solution get something done with regard to our budget the fact of the matter is these proposals have been on The table we they intend to run a stopgap budget that only finds things at one-third of what they did in 1182 1192 but at the end of the day we have proposals on the table that are significant when you talk about the pension piece Clearly in Senate bill one There are at least three items in the pension bill that are similar to what the governor or what the Republicans put on a table with Respect the Senate bill one they're there this anti-spiking the shared risk and also the option for revenue neutrality When you look to the DC component to define contribution component, it's there It's there for the members new employees that often into that particular program. That's what's on the table These are things that are difficult for Democrats to get their arms around same thing with respect with respect to the wine and Spear privatization conversation we're taking place But we recognize and our caucus recognized and I know our colleagues in the House Democratic caucus recognized We have a greater obligation We have an obligation to the people of Pennsylvania to get a budget done and get it done as soon as possible not play games with Stopgap budgets we know we have to make investments in education and restore the dollars that have been cut that have Resulted in dramatic reductions in performance in our Commonwealth and making certain that we educate our kids and not just basic K-12 but also early learning and also higher education our community colleges We have to make those investments because it's been disinvested for the past four years We suffered the consequences with respect to our human service agencies quite frankly I am amazed at the hypocrisy of the Republican colleagues who today are going to say they're going to stand up and protect human Service programs and social service agencies went for the past four years They've done nothing but cut those programs and then no regard and no respect for those services that are provided to our seniors Across this commonwealth for our most needy folks who need those services no regard for them for the fast past four years But today they want to stand up and protect them. That's hypocrisy in my view We want to make historic investments along those lines because they need to be done We need to restore those levels of funding that we can provide those services job creation programs along those lines We promoting we've been promoting a number of these issues and the governor's put on a table a couple of other things He's looking for a more seller-shale extraction tax and their response to that has been zero Zero no money from more sellers at all to me. That's wrong The people of Pennsylvania elected this gentleman to be governor because they wanted to make investments in education And they wanted him to look to this more sellers community to be part of the solution part of the solution They've rejected that they're standing with the special interest at the expense of our kids and at the expense of our seniors That's got to change. That's why Senate Democrats stand strongly and squarely with Governor Governor Wolf to be able to move forward and do what needs to be done along those lines