On Wednesday the Pennsylvania Senate passed SB 1466, the General Appropriations Act, which includes the full restoration of funding to the State System of Higher Education. The bill passed 39-8, and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The Senate budget proposal spends $27.6 billion – approximately $500 million more than Governor Corbett’s initial proposal – and restores the governor’s deep cuts to higher education institutions. While the legislation maintains funding for all state-owned, state-related and community colleges at current-year levels, the funding restorations come with the caveat that the state-owned and state-related universities will not increase tuition above the rate of inflation. The Senate version of the budget does include a modest $8 million cut to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA).
The future of our universities depends upon adequate state support. We are grateful that the Senate has recognized the importance of public higher education and has taken the initial steps to bring funding for the State System back to the future. Please take a moment to send an email thanking the leaders of the Senate for crafting a budget that fully restores PASSHE’s funding. Please note once you click on the link, the email subject and address will autofill. At the end of this email you will find sample text to copy/paste into the body of email.
Senator Joe Scarnati, President Pro Tempore Senator Dominic Pileggi, Republican Leader Senator Jake Corman, Republican Chairman of the Appropriations Committee Senator Jay Costa, Democratic Leader Senator Vince Hughes, Democratic Chairman of the Appropriations Committee
SAMPLE EMAIL BODY
Thank you for passing SB 1466, a budget that fully restores funding for the State System of Higher Education. Public higher education is a public good; our universities, our students, and our communities benefit from state support for public higher education.
Thank you for recognizing the importance of our institutions to the economic, cultural and intellectual future of the Commonwealth.
Sincerely,
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