Governor Corbett's plan to privatize the operation of the Pennsylvania Lottery has Democratic lawmakers questioning the wisdom of such a move. Claiming it "ain’t broken," critics want to know why the governor wants to fix it.
State House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody did have one nice thing to say about the Governor. He said Corbett did something his party couldn't do itself, unify the Democratic caucus.
"We're here today to stop this sale,” explained House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody. “The house democrats are united. We'll continue to fight this with all the tools we have available."
Dermody assembled more than 50 democratic legislators behind him on the steps at the Capitol Rotunda. One by one they proceeded to the podium.
They said Pennsylvania's Lottery is the most successful in the nation. Details have only been made public recently and troubling questions remain unanswered.
"Governor Corbett is trying to take hundreds of millions of dollars away from the senior citizens of Pennsylvania to give it to consultants from Chicago and a private company from London," State Rep. Steve Samuelson, Democrat from Lehigh and Northhampton Counties commented.
Democrats want a year moratorium on his plan. They want to know why if it ‘ain't broke’ the governor wants to fix it. The comments included several puns, such as ‘this gambles away an important revenue stream’ or ‘he's rolling the dice on a shaky proposal’.
"There is no trust in this administration's ability to administer or to oversee private contractors,” stated Lancaster County Representative Mike Sturla. “We've seen time and time and time again with this administration how they just can't do it."
One of the more controversial provisions is the addition of keno and on-line gaming. Legislators say that is an expansion of gambling and for it to be legal the general assembly must approve it.
Governor Corbett responded to what he called the Democrats' false assertions. He says he is committed to growing lottery funding for senior programs. He called it "alarming" that the house democrat caucus is promoting mis-truths in an effort to work against the proposal.
In his statement, he said:
‘The transparency and the legislative and public outreach in this procurement has been tremendous:
More than 100 meetings or individual phone conversations with legislators and staffers
Twenty three letters responding to inquiries
Public testimony at two legislative hearings
Eight press releases
A public website dedicated to providing information and resources about the process
"Our goal is to increase funding for senior programs so that we can ensure that as Pennsylvania's senior population grows, we will be able to keep up with that need," Corbett said. "Camelot's bid commits to record-level profit growth for the Pennsylvania Lottery, translating to billions of dollars for seniors."’
State House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody did have one nice thing to say about the Governor. He said Corbett did something his party couldn't do itself, unify the Democratic caucus.
"We're here today to stop this sale,” explained House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody. “The house democrats are united. We'll continue to fight this with all the tools we have available."
Dermody assembled more than 50 democratic legislators behind him on the steps at the Capitol Rotunda. One by one they proceeded to the podium.
They said Pennsylvania's Lottery is the most successful in the nation. Details have only been made public recently and troubling questions remain unanswered.
"Governor Corbett is trying to take hundreds of millions of dollars away from the senior citizens of Pennsylvania to give it to consultants from Chicago and a private company from London," State Rep. Steve Samuelson, Democrat from Lehigh and Northhampton Counties commented.
Democrats want a year moratorium on his plan. They want to know why if it ‘ain't broke’ the governor wants to fix it. The comments included several puns, such as ‘this gambles away an important revenue stream’ or ‘he's rolling the dice on a shaky proposal’.
"There is no trust in this administration's ability to administer or to oversee private contractors,” stated Lancaster County Representative Mike Sturla. “We've seen time and time and time again with this administration how they just can't do it."
One of the more controversial provisions is the addition of keno and on-line gaming. Legislators say that is an expansion of gambling and for it to be legal the general assembly must approve it.
Governor Corbett responded to what he called the Democrats' false assertions. He says he is committed to growing lottery funding for senior programs. He called it "alarming" that the house democrat caucus is promoting mis-truths in an effort to work against the proposal.
In his statement, he said:
‘The transparency and the legislative and public outreach in this procurement has been tremendous:
More than 100 meetings or individual phone conversations with legislators and staffers
Twenty three letters responding to inquiries
Public testimony at two legislative hearings
Eight press releases
A public website dedicated to providing information and resources about the process
"Our goal is to increase funding for senior programs so that we can ensure that as Pennsylvania's senior population grows, we will be able to keep up with that need," Corbett said. "Camelot's bid commits to record-level profit growth for the Pennsylvania Lottery, translating to billions of dollars for seniors."’