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By John Finnerty
Capitolwire
LANCASTER -- Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday dismissed Republican cuts aimed at "waste and fraud" as "BS" while defending the merits of safety net programs during a press conference touting his own efforts to boost spending on affordable housing.
The 2024-25 state budget nearly doubled Pennsylvania's investment in affordable housing programs. Lawmakers raised the cap on the amount of realty transfer tax transferred to the PHARE fund to $100 million a year by 2027.
"My administration is making the largest investment in housing in Pennsylvania history because we know that housing is a key foundation for opportunity," Shapiro said. "If we want kids to succeed in school, if we want people to work and build a better life, they need a place to call home. That's why we've nearly doubled the amount of funding available for PHARE -- the largest, most flexible, most effective tool we have for building and repairing affordable housing -- and why my budget lays out a commonsense plan to build more housing, lower costs, and help more Pennsylvanians achieve the American Dream."
Shapiro has called on lawmakers to increase the cap by another $10 million. The House passed legislation that would do this in April.
House Bill 619 was approved by the House in a 112-91 vote. It was referred to the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee and has not moved out of the committee.
Shapiro has also called for $10 million for grants to first-time homebuyers to help cover closing costs on home purchases.
At the end of the housing press conference, Shapiro was asked about Medicaid cuts included in the budget bill passed by the U.S. House. Shapiro said his administration takes fighting fraud seriously.
"If they want to help us root out waste, fraud and abuse, great, I'd love some help on that," Shapiro said. "But don't give me this nonsense where you're going to try to justify knocking a half million Pennsylvanians."
Pennsylvania law already bars undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits through the Medicaid program, Shapiro said.
"So their rationale for all this is BS," he said.
Local programs get housing funds
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency earlier this month announced that 387 housing and community development efforts will get a share of $73 million in Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement funding.
That fund provided $300,000 for renovations at a 169-unit public housing development for seniors and those with disabilities in Lancaster.
Other legislation
The governor isn't the only one with ideas about how to tackle housing affordability.
The House passed legislation last month to create a tax-free savings account program for first-time homebuyers.
House Bill 818 passed with bipartisan support.
"We estimate that this legislation could help up to 4,000 more people buy their first home in Pennsylvania each year, which would mean great things for our economy and communities."
The First-Time Homebuyers Savings Accounts would be established under the state Treasury and operate similar to the PA 529 program families use for college and career education. This means family and friends can also contribute to these accounts.
HB818 was referred to the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee but it has not moved out of committee.
The Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee approved legislation earlier this month that would exempt first-time homebuyers from having to pay the realty transfer tax.
Senate Bill 815 was approved 10-1 by the committee. It has not been put up for a vote by the full chamber.