Flourtown, PA – Democratic Nominee for State Treasurer Joe Torsella released the following statement after the Department of Treasury announced that the Commonwealth will draw an additional $1.2 billion from the $2.5 billion line of credit extended in August to prevent the General Fund cash balance from falling into the negative:
“Pennsylvania is making history again, but in all the wrong ways. The current $2.5 billion line of credit from the Treasury to the Commonwealth was already the largest in history. The Commonwealth drawing down $1.6 billion of that line of credit so early in the fiscal year to prevent the General Fund from falling into the red suggests a dangerous pattern: it opens the possibility that the Commonwealth may seek General Fund coverage in the open market towards the end of this year. If we do nothing, then we will continue to see larger gaps occurring at a more frequent pace. Pennsylvania taxpayers ultimately pay the price, through higher interest rates, for Harrisburg’s failure of leadership. We need all stakeholders to come together and address the underlying issues in Pennsylvania’s structural deficit.
It’s critical that the next Treasurer in Harrisburg has experience in bringing fiscal reform and accountability. I’ve spent my life in public service helping public institutions do a better job of managing public resources, from my time as Deputy Mayor of Philadelphia, where I helped close a $1.25 billion budget gap without raising taxes, to my time at the United Nations, where I saved millions for American taxpayers.”
Joe Torsella has spent his life in public service making public institutions more efficient, more transparent, and more innovative. As Ambassador to the United Nations for UN Management and Reform from 2011 to 2014, Torsella was the architect and chief public spokesperson for the U.S.-led reform of the UN’s $36 billion system. As Deputy Mayor of Philadelphia, Torsella helped Ed Rendell close a $1.25 billion deficit. Torsella was the founding CEO of the National Constitution Center, helping it go from virtual bankruptcy to national treasure.