HARRISBURG, Penn.—Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union is stepping up to offer a special loan to tide over employees of the Pennsylvania General Assembly during this state’s budget impasse.
The General Assembly and state employees have been affected in recent years by budget impasses, and PSECU has offered assistance. This round only General Assembly staff are affected.
Pennsylvania's new fiscal year started July 1 without a spending plan in place after Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the entire budget bill passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Republican legislative leaders had unveiled a $30.18 billion budget June 26. The bill was passed by the state House the next day, and the state Senate approved it June 30. That night, Wolf vetoed the entire bill.
Called the Budget Impasse Loan, PSECU’s 0% APR line of credit is available while the stalemate continues and for 30 days after the budget is signed by the governor. Any remaining balance after that time will begin to accrue interest at 2.9%. The first payment is due 60 days after the budget is signed.
PSECU CEO Greg Smith reminded that “credit unions were founded on the ‘People Helping People’ philosophy and the Impasse Loan is a part of this mission. These are our members and PSECU has a long history of doing whatever we can to help members under stress.”
Smith is not certain how long General Assembly staff will be without pay, but fears the impasse could last for a while.
“Things look rather bleak for a resolution in the near term,” said Smith, noting that 1,600 employees work for the General Assembly. “With state politics, it’s impossible to say how long the impasse might last. However, the political news writers I’ve read are not optimistic about a short solution. I’m actually hearing that this may last longer than the impasse in 2009, which was 101 days long. Sadly, both sides seem to be digging in when it comes to their positions.”
Smith said the $4.4-billion PSECU has already written Budget Impasse Loans, as workers at this point are no longer receiving paychecks.
“This group is much more manageable in terms of numbers of members than in 2009,” said Smith. “Our phones are open until 9 p.m. each weeknight, and I expect that we’ll have applications every day.”