During Ed Rendell’s tenure as Governor of Pennsylvania over the past 8 years, he has increased spending by almost $9 billion to $29.1 billion, or about 42.65 percent.  To put that in perspective - the rate of inflation over the same time has been 19.77 percent, which, in theory, would put the spending level in Pennsylvania at $24.4 billion.  What does the Commonwealth have to show for the excess spending...higher unemployment, increased welfare recipients, and more businesses leaving the state.  While neighboring states have proposed to decrease spending in this recession, Governor Rendell has chosen to propose a budget that increases spending over $1 Billion.

The goal of the House Republican “Budget and Economic Policy Task Force” is to maximize the return on investment of taxpayer dollars while increasing the quality of service that those programs provide, thus moving Pennsylvania’s economy into the 21st century. The task force is charged with: 

• Reviewing Pennsylvania’s current budget.
• Investigating more efficient ways to budget.
• Crafting fiscally responsible economic policies for program funding.
• Finding new and innovative ways to fund state priorities.