Pa. Gov. Wolf tells group he’ll fight for cash-assistance program

MOUNT WOLF, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf is telling demonstrators that he’ll fight Republican resistance to a Depression-era program in his budget proposal that provides a $200-a-month cash benefit for the poor who are disabled or otherwise unable to work.

Wolf, a Democrat, spoke with demonstrators from the Poor People’s Campaign who showed up at his Mount Wolf home Thursday afternoon.

Demonstrators urged him to veto any spending package from the Republican-controlled Legislature that eliminates it.

Wolf told them he’d work hard to get it into budget legislation, but said the Legislature would override his veto.

The program is projected to cost $50 million to serve almost 10,000 people. Backers say it often goes toward rent for someone who is disabled and waiting on their application for Social Security disability benefits to be approved.