Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday called on state legislative leaders to pass a plan that he said would send $2,000 directly to Pennsylvanians to combat the rising cost of gas, groceries and more.

“Inflation is making everything that was expensive before even more expensive,” Wolf said in an appearance in West View. “That’s creating a real inconvenience to everybody, but if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, that’s more than just an inconvenience. That could be dire.”

The money — $2,000 for households making under $80,000 — would come from $2 billion in American Rescue Plan funding that Pennsylvania received. The proposal, called the PA Opportunity Program, would cost about $500 million.

“I’m talking about $2 billion that’s sitting in a checking account in Harrisburg that, if we don’t use it by the end of 2024, we have to send it back to Washington,” Wolf said. “Do you want to do that? I don’t want to do that.”

State Rep. Emily Kincaid, a Democrat whose district includes parts of West View, Ross, Avalon and Bellevue, said using American Rescue Plan funding would require the Legislature’s approval.

“We have the money to be able to make generational investment in our communities, in our Pennsylvanians, to help working families who are struggling,” she said. “People are struggling right now, and they don’t need to, because we have so much money available.”

Susan Scott of West View said she knows what $2,000 can mean to a family.

She said she became disabled and unable to work after years of building a stable middle-class life. For her, help came in the form of the West View Hub, where she is now a volunteer and where Wolf appeared Wednesday. It offers a library with computers and Wi-Fi service and serves as a social services center with a food pantry, counseling center, tutoring and other programs.

Scott said $2,000 could ease the financial pain many families are feeling, particularly as inflation drives prices skyward.

“That is two month’s rent,” she said. “That is getting your car fixed and inspected. That is repairing a broken appliance. That is choices.”

Wolf called on the Republican-controlled General Assembly to act.

“I’m saying in a very nonpartisan way to the Republican leaders in the General Assembly, ‘Let’s pass this bill now,’ ” he said. “If you have other ideas, we’re all ears, because we need this right now. Pennsylvanians cannot afford to wait.”

Jason Gottesman, spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, said the proposals put forth by Wolf and other Democrats are “merely talking points and not real plans.”

“They aren’t on the same page. They have no unified plan. They have no unified vision. They just have cannon fodder for press conferences,” he said, pointing to several plans put forth by various Democrats. “Not even the administration and legislative Democrats are on the same page.”

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