FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: February 3, 2026
CONTACT: Kirstin Snow, Communications Director, snow@pennpolicy.org
RELEASE: 2/3 GOVERNOR’S BUDGET ADDRESS – RAPID RESPONSE ROUNDTABLE
Pennsylvania Policy Center and Subject Experts Respond to Governor’s Proposed Budget
HARRISBURG, PA – Following Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2026–2027 Budget Address on Tuesday, February 3, the Pennsylvania Policy Center convened a virtual Rapid Response Roundtable, bringing together policy experts and advocacy leaders to provide analysis, context, and reactions to the Governor’s proposal. Watch the roundtable HERE.
The discussion focused on major budget priorities, including education funding, child care and early learning, public transit, health equity, and revenue and tax policy.
The roundtable was moderated by new Pennsylvania Policy Center executive director Felicity A. Williams, Esq., who opened the roundtable by grounding the budget debate in the lived experience of working families and the interconnected nature of public investment. Williams and panel participants challenged viewers to consider how decisions in the state budget ripple across education, child care, transportation, and household finances.
Building on that framing, Williams later issued a statement responding to the Governor’s proposal:
“Pennsylvanians are being squeezed from every side: rising costs, an underfunded public school system that remains out of compliance with Pennsylvania’s constitution, a minimum wage stuck at $7.25 for 16 years, and a tax code that too often asks working families to pay more, while the wealthiest individuals and profitable corporations contribute too little.
The question before lawmakers now is not whether Pennsylvanians are feeling it. They are. The question is whether this budget process will deliver real relief and long-term stability or simply postpone hard choices for yet another year.”
Read the full Pennsylvania Policy Center statement available HERE.
PANELIST QUOTES:
Education Funding: Susan Spicka, Education Voters PA: “The evidence from investments over the last few years is clear: When we properly fund our schools, students excel. We’ve witnessed this impact across rural, urban, and suburban communities, where schools are using these resources responsibly to help students reach their full potential.
The General Assembly must build on the governor’s proposal by addressing outstanding needs and accelerating the timeline to close the adequacy gap; a child’s time in school is precious, and Pennsylvania’s public school students cannot afford to keep waiting.”
Tax Justice and Revenue: Laura Beltrán Figueroa, Research Director, PA Policy Center: “Pennsylvania does not have to accept austerity or scarcity. We can choose abundance.
But that means having the courage to fix our upside-down tax system and require ultra-wealthy individuals and profitable corporations to finally pay their fair share, so everyday Pennsylvanians are not left footing the bill.”
Connor Descheemaker, Statewide Campaign Manager, Transit For All PA: “We are glad Governor Shapiro acknowledged transit and unfinished business. But we must get real with dedicated, long-term funding sources: Transit riders and workers need more than has been proposed in years past to restore and expand service, not lock in austerity.”
Dr. Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, Academic Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Drexel University School of Medicine and former Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Allegheny Health Network: “Investing boldly in sustainable political and systemic change can narrow health and wealth disparities, fostering trust and access to quality healthcare through justice and humility, ultimately enhancing well-being for all of us. Health is wealth. We must deal with the issues of making sure that we are taking [care] of both those living in poverty and those who are not. We must talk about health equity across the landscape. The Governor did call out the fact that so many hospitals are closing in rural areas. We have to address that. And we have to deal with so many changes coming in Medicaid—as we move into the Big Beautiful Bill, we have headwinds coming. I’m excited that he wants to invest boldly. But we need to think about sustainability and systemic change to narrow both the health and wealth gaps.”
Mary Graham, Executive Director, Children’s Village: “Most of our own child care workers cannot afford to place their own children in day care because subsidies are too low. Many children are in care 10 hours a day, and the day rate we receive is only a $58 reimbursement per child, which is nowhere near an adequate amount. With child care, you get out what you put in.”
WHY IT MATTERS:
Governor Shapiro’s budget proposal sets the framework for negotiations that will determine funding levels for core public services across Pennsylvania. This roundtable offered timely access to subject-matter experts who provided analysis about what the proposal means for communities statewide and identified key issues likely to shape the legislative debate.
WHAT’S NEXT:
In an effort to work towards a Pennsylvania that works for ALL of us, not just the ultra-rich and wealthy corporations, the Pennsylvania Policy Center launched its new 2026 campaign For Our Common Wealth. This is a campaign to raise new revenue from the wealthiest Pennsylvanians and multinational corporations who don’t pay their fair share in taxes. The new revenue is needed to address the coming fiscal crisis in our state and to meet our constitutional and moral obligation to fully and fairly fund our schools and fund our affordability agenda to make health care, child care, post-secondary education, and public transit more affordable.
Our preliminary facts on budget expenditures and revenue raisers can be found HERE. More budget resources will be available and ongoing as negotiations begin. Those resources can be found HERE.
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