HARRISBURG, June 26, 2011 – Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) tonight pushed back against Governor Corbett’s budget agreement that decimates education by introducing an amendment to Senate Bill 1125 that would have restored funding to Lincoln University to last year’s state funding level, without adding any new fees or taxes.
The amendment would have restored $1.9 million to Lincoln University. Such funding would have taken the school to the 2010-2011 funding levels, minus the federal money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), or a total of $13.6 million. The funding to restore Lincoln University would have come from looking at cost efficiencies within the Department of Corrections budget and federalizing inmate health care provided outside institutions.
“Since the Governor’s budget proposal in March, I have been a staunch advocate for the restoration of higher education funding – it is the very foundation of the health of our state and a worthwhile investment,” said Hughes. “Lincoln University is an outstanding institution, and each student deserves a chance to realize his or her educational goals. This current budget proposal ignores those goals and dreams of Lincoln University students; all while the commonwealth is approaching a $700 million surplus.”
Hughes’ amendment did not pass – falling short by a party line vote.
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