Budget Not Perfect But Delivers Wins, Ortitay Says

HARRISBURG - After more than 100 days of gridlock, the Pennsylvania General Assembly finally passed a 2025-26 state budget. Rep. Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny) issued the following statement: "This budget was a camel: a little bit of everything, some good, some bad. But at the end of the day, Pennsylvanians needed a budget, and this one finally gets funding flowing to schools, communities and key programs across the Commonwealth. "One of the biggest wins for me personally is the $10 million investment in early literacy. For years, I've been pushing for Pennsylvania to teach kids to read the right way - using structured literacy, not guessing at words or relying on pictures. This budget funds that effort statewide. Every school will now be required to use evidence-based reading instruction, screen students early and intervene when a child is struggling. Only about one-third of our fourth graders are reading on grade level and that's not because our kids can't learn. It's because we aren't teaching them the right way. This changes that. "Teaching kids to read the right way isn't just good education policy; it's good fiscal policy. If we help kids early, we save money later on remediation, special education and other interventions. It's a win for students and a win for taxpayers. "This budget also takes a major step forward by getting Pennsylvania out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI was nothing more than an energy tax that hurt working families and drove up electricity bills. Pulling out of RGGI puts us back in control of our energy future, protects jobs and helps keep utility costs down. Western Pennsylvania has always been a leader in energy, and now we can focus on powering the economy again instead of punishing it. "We also made progress on permitting reform, something for which businesses and local governments have been begging. Too many projects have been held up because agencies take months or years to respond. This plan sets real deadlines, increases transparency and holds bureaucrats accountable. It's about making Pennsylvania more competitive and letting people get to work. "Look, this budget isn't everything I wanted. But it includes real wins for students, working families and Pennsylvania's economy. It gets us out of RGGI, it modernizes permitting and it funds the structured literacy reforms for which we've been fighting. It's not flashy, but it moves us forward and that's what matters." For more information on the 2025-26 budget, visit pabudget.com/. The 46th Legislative District includes South Fayette Township and McDonald and Oakdale boroughs in Allegheny County. It also encompasses Cecil, Chartiers, Mt. Pleasant and North Strabane (Districts 6,7,8 and 9) townships and Canonsburg, Houston and McDonald boroughs in Washington County. Representative Jason Ortitay 46th Legislative District Pennsylvania House of Representatives Media Contact: Tracy Polovick 717.260.6358 [email protected] RepOrtitay.com / Facebook.com/RepOrtitay

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