Governor Ralph DLG. Torres on Thursday issued the following response regarding the House of Representatives’ rejection of the Senate’s bill amendment to increase retiree bonuses to $1000.
“First off, I would like to thank the Senate for their immediate action after being informed of this issue, since the beginning. Further, I want to thank them for acknowledging the needs of the retirees in their decision to increase the bonus amount from $500 to $1000.”
“The House was presented with the opportunity to give retirees a larger bonus in their session, but chose to reject the Senate’s amendment. I am very disappointed at their decision to do that, especially because it has already been almost three months since the initial retiree bonus was supposed to come out.”
“If they really cared for the retirees, they would make this bonus happen for them because they are the appropriating branch of government. If you truly believe that this is political, please look at your own actions. You are holding back well-deserved bonuses for retirees who have worked hard for this Commonwealth because of your own political agendas and your own dislike for me as a Governor. We may have our differences in opinions on how to spend funds, but I make the decisions that I make based on what is in the best interests of the people of this Commonwealth.”
“The Senate saw fit that I’d be given 100% reprogramming authority to ensure that the retiree bonuses would be fully funded and so that similar issues like this could be avoided in the future. Even after both my Administration and the Senate offered viable solutions to address this issue, the House still did not agree. This is an important issue for all retirees, therefore, if they do not like the suggestions we have made, I urge the House to offer their own solutions. Let’s just get our retirees their bonuses.”
“The retirees know that I have always made them a priority, and moving forward, I always will,” said Governor Torres.
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