Hamm Votes ‘No’ on Late State Budget

July 14, 2026

HARRISBURG – Rep. Joe Hamm (R-Lycoming/Sullivan) released the following statement after the 2026-27 state budget was passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on July 12.

“Before I ever take a vote, I ask myself one simple question – does this benefit the hard-working people of Lycoming and Sullivan counties and our rural region? Farmers, seniors, small business owners and all Pennsylvanians don’t have the luxury of spending more than they bring in and certainly not deferring payment of their bills. The approved 2026-2027 budget spends billions more than the state will receive in revenue and defers Medicaid payments of over $1.3 Billion. In total the budget spends $50.8 Billion and with the $1.3 Billion in Medicaid balloons to nearly $52.2 Billion. Disingenuous politicians will tell you it is a $50.8 Billion budget, but they will conveniently leave out the deferred Medicaid payments, one-time special fund transfers, and the one-time gimmicks and shell games included in this budget.”

“I call on the Governor and General Assembly to focus on cutting costs like eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from our Human Services programs. There are common-sense reforms that would save taxpayers billions by preventing benefits from being accessed by those who try to cheat the system and take away from those who truly need help. I will continue to put Pennsylvania taxpayers first by getting our recurring structural deficit under control rather than kicking the can down the road year after year,” Hamm said.

Despite voting against the annual state spending plan, Hamm mentioned several positives. “We were able to eliminate more than $1 Billion from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s initial proposal. Additionally, this budget preserves the Rainy Day Fund for a time when Pennsylvania will truly need it,” Hamm shared. “The Republicans were also successful in adding $10 Million for Career and Technical Education and stopping Gov. Shapiro’s attack on the highly successful Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. Our work saved school choice scholarships for thousands of Pennsylvania students.”

Representative Joe Hamm
84th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Erik Houser
570-546-2084
ehouser@pahousegop.com
www.RepJoeHamm.com