Feb. 22, 2016
HARRISBURG — Under the direction of Chairman Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin), the House Majority Policy Committee today launched PennSAVE, a Republican-led initiative to find ways to save taxpayer dollars by cutting government waste and inefficiencies. The initiative stands for savings, accountability, value and efficiency.
“Before taxpayers are asked to take a pay cut in order to send more money to Harrisburg, state government first needs to be accountable to taxpayers by ensuring it has explored every practical option for reducing costs,” Benninghoff said. “In a $30.3 billion budget, there are plenty of opportunities to find efficiencies and improve how government works.”
The initiative will be run by a special subcommittee of the House Majority Policy Committee. The group will be researching several potential cost-saving measures across state government, including possible state agency and program consolidation; unaddressed audit findings; government procurement policies and “corporate welfare;” as well as overall waste, fraud and system abuse.
Members appointed to participate in the initiative include: Reps. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland), Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon), Cris Dush (R-Jefferson/Indiana), Joe Emrick (R-Northampton), Matt Gabler (R-Clearfield/Elk), Seth Grove (R-York), Marcia Hahn (R-Northampton), Fred Keller (R-Snyder/Union), John McGinnis (R-Blair), Steve Mentzer (R-Lancaster), David Millard (R-Columbia), Tedd Nesbit (R-Mercer/Butler), Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion/Armstrong/Forest), Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny), Greg Rothman (R-Cumberland), Tommy Sankey (R-Clearfield/Cambria), Paul Schemel (R-Franklin), Justin Simmons (R-Lehigh/Montgomery/Northampton) and Dan Truitt (R-Chester).
“Year after year, the state budget process has resulted in bigger government and more spending, with few questions being asked and not enough being done to look for real, measurable cost-savings,” Benninghoff said. “The state budget process should begin, not with conversations about higher taxes, but by first looking for ways to reduce government waste and cut unnecessary costs. It is easy to argue higher taxes are the best solution for budget shortfalls and much more difficult to find real savings, but that is our job as lawmakers.”
The House Majority Policy Committee is encouraging the public to participate in the initiative by submitting ideas and strategies for how to make government more efficient. They can do so by visiting
pagoppolicy.com and selecting the “PennSAVE” banner. The initiative will also include coordination with other state House and Senate committees, as well as the governor’s office and its executive agencies, in order to solicit suggestions.
“Pennsylvanians know there are cost-savings to be found, and we hope they will join us in our cause,” Benninghoff said. “We need to hit the reset button and start the state budget process over—this time, in the best interest of taxpayers.”
Representative Kerry Benninghoff
House Majority Policy Committee Chairman
171st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Morgan Wagner
717.260.6281
mwagner@pahousegop.com
KerryBenninghoff.com /
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