PA-08

Petition Kick Off Events

2012-01-20T14:22:00.001-05:00

Fitzpatrick for Congress

Friends,

**REMINDER**

Mike needs your help collecting signatures to get on the ballot. The petition process begins on Tuesday, January 24th.

If you are a registered Republican in the 8^th District and are interested in helping Mike collect the signatures of fellow Republicans, please come out to the following Petition Drive Kick-Off events. Join Mike and fellow supporters, enjoy a complimentary breakfast or brunch and learn more about the petition process. Be part of this important first step in ensuring Mike stays in Washington to represent your goals and values!

Our goal is to break our signature record from 2010, with your help we know we can do it!

FITZPATRICK PETITION BREAKFAST

Saturday, January 21^st

9:00-10:30AM

John's Plain & Fancy Diner, 50 S. West End Blvd., Quakertown

FITZPATRICK PETITION BRUNCH

Sunday, January 22^nd

1:00-3:00PM

The Temperance House, 5 S. State St.,

Newtown

Contact Information

Fitzpatrick for Congress
P.O. Box 185
Langhorne, Pennsylvania
19047

215-970-7343 x717

Fitzpatrick for Congress | P.O. Box 185 | Langhorne | PA | 19047

News from Washington > Cosponsors of Federal Death Benefit Nonprofit EMS Bills

2011-11-25T16:31:00.001-05:00

http://www.naemt.org/advocacy/news/11-11-23/Cosponsors_of_Federal_Death_Benefit_Nonprofit_EMS_Bills.aspx

Cosponsors of Federal Death Benefit Nonprofit EMS Bills

11/23/2011 3:52:08 PM

Here is a list, current as of today, of members of Congress who have officially been added as cosponsors to the Dale Long Act (S. 385) or the Danny McIntosh Act (H.R. 1668.

One of NAEMT's legislative priorities is to ensure that paramedics and EMTs who are employed by nongovernmental EMS agencies are covered by the Public Safety Officer Benefit (PSOB) program. The PSOB program provides death benefits to the family members of public safety officers who die in the line of duty.

To extend coverage to paramedics and EMTs employed by private non-profit EMS agencies, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Dale Long Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection Act (S. 385) and Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the Danny McIntosh Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection Act (H.R. 1668). H.R. 1668 has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and S. 385 was included in the Senate version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Authorization Bill. The House also passed a version of the FAA bill which did not include the Dale Long Act language so House and Senate conferees are currently negotiating to merge the two bills.

Senator Leahy has also introduced the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act of 2011 (S. 1696) which would improve the PSOB program. Included as part of S. 1696 is the language of the Dale Long Act (S. 385) which provides yet another legislative vehicle for expending federal death benefit coverage to paramedics and EMTs employed by private non-profit EMS agencies and who die in the line of duty. NAEMT strongly supports expanding the program to those paramedics and EMTs employed by all nongovernmental EMS agencies.

Below is a list, current as of today, of members of Congress who have officially been added as cosponsors to the Dale Long Act (S. 385) or the Danny McIntosh Act (H.R. 1668. The names of sponsors and champions of the bills are underlined.

Dale Long Act (S. 1353) Cosponsors

ID: Sen. Mike Crapo

MA: Sen. John Kerry

MN: Sen. Al Franken

NY: Sen. Chuck Schumer

ND: Sen. Kent Conrad

VT: Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders

Danny McIntosh Act (H.R. 1668) Cosponsors

CT: Rep. Joe Courtney

PA: Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick

State officials getting 3% raise

2011-11-24T13:28:00.001-05:00

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11328/1192210-454-0.stm

State officials getting 3% raise

Corbett donates his increase to charity

Thursday, November 24, 2011

By Laura Olson, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG -- State lawmakers may still have a lengthy to-do list for December, but the annual cost-of-living pay increase will begin boosting their paychecks next week.

That 3 percent adjustment, based on the rate of inflation, will hike their salaries by several thousand dollars in most cases, pushing their pay over the $80,000 threshold for the first time.

Automatic raises also go into effect for top executive branch and judicial positions on Jan. 1.

While that 1995 law has been a source of outrage by government-watchdog groups and others in past years -- creating pressure for legislators to return the increase to the state treasury or donate it to charitable groups -- there's so far been little backlash this year.

Asked about the annual increase, Gov. Tom Corbett said he again will donate the additional dollars in his paycheck to charity.

"I have not taken the raise, will not take the raise," Mr. Corbett said earlier this week, adding that he believes approving the automatic increase back in the mid-1990s "was a mistake then, [and] I think it's a mistake now."

His press office did not return a call Wednesday seeking information about which charities he plans to support with those dollars.

The governor's statutory salary is set to rise to about $183,250 with the cost-of-living adjustment. That's up from the current $177,888 and the 2010 rate of $174,914 that Mr. Corbett has decided to retain.

Paychecks for rank-and-file lawmakers will now total $82,026, an increase from the current $79,623. For the four caucus leaders, salaries will be $118,845, up from the current $115,364. Their salaries rank second nationally among all state legislative bodies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Those who reject the pay increase will still see it in their paychecks, which also will boost their eventual pension amounts. They must either write a check to state government or donate it.

Laura Olson: lolson@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11328/1192210-454-0.stm#ixzz1eeHVgcq5

Fitzpatrick Supports Balanced Budget Amendment

2011-11-18T18:43:00.001-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Anthony Pontarelli
November 18, 2011		215-579-8102

Fitzpatrick Supports Balanced Budget Amendment

Makes firm commitment to controlling federal spending

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick voted in favor of H.J.Res. 2, a bill proposing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The measure, which required a majority of two-thirds to pass, was rejected by a vote of 261-165.

"I was proud to support sending a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Senate and the states," said Fitzpatrick during a press conference following the vote. "It is disappointing to see the Democratic Party leadership play partisan politics and actively work to encourage their colleagues, some of whom voted for the exact same language in 1995, to oppose the Balanced Budget Amendment for purely political reasons. The American people support this amendment, and I believe those who opposed it today will be held accountable for their votes against breaking the cycle of reckless spending in Washington."

"Today, our national debt is nearly $15 trillion, amounting to $48,500 for every American -- higher than it has ever been in American history. Our current spending environment has failed to create jobs and is threatening our standard of living, and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called our escalating debt the greatest threat to our national security. Balancing the budget and controlling federal spending has been a dream of Americans since Thomas Jefferson wrote, 'I however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared.' The vote today is an important step toward realizing that promise for our nation and making a serious commitment to curbing unnecessary deficit spending."

H.J.Res. 2 would require a three-fifths roll call vote of each Congressional chamber to increase the public debt limit, and directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. It authorizes waivers of these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict. Although H.J.Res. 2 failed in the House, the Senate is still required to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment, though it is no longer required to vote on the House version.

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Media Advisory from Congressman Fitzpatrick

2011-10-27T16:11:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Anthony Pontarelli
October 27, 2011		215-579-8102

**MEDIA ADVISORY**

WHO: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, local small business representatives

WHAT: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick will be joined by local small businessmen and women at a press conference to demonstrate support for the passage of H.R. 674, a bill to repeal the imposition of the 3 percent withholding fee on payments made to vendors by government entities. This repeal represents one of many measures Congressman Fitzpatrick has supported to remove government barriers to economic growth and job creation.

WHERE: DBR Industries, 18 Penns Trail, Newtown PA 18940

WHEN: Friday, October 28, 2:45 p.m.

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My Response to "Patriot or Extortionist?"

2011-10-14T18:40:00.001-04:00

Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:27:07 -0400

Subject: My Response to "Patriot or Extortionist?"

October 14, 2011
Dear Neighbor,

Below is my response to a column in today's Bucks County Courier Times "Patriot or Extortionist?" I invite you to read both the article and response. As always, if there is anything I or my office can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact the Langhorne office at 215-579-8102, or online at Fitzpatrick.house.gov.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) once famously quipped that, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts." That quote came to mind as I reviewed Kate Fratti's column this morning in the Bucks County Courier Times.
In today's column, Ms. Fratti characterized a small-business owner here in Bucks County as an "extortionist" based on a conversation with the Courier Times editorial board two weeks ago. This misguided and misinformed accusation misrepresents not only the story I recounted in our meeting, but also the intentions and desires of Bucks County job creators.
The example I cited during this meeting was of a local manufacturer who has been in business for over forty years, during which time his work has included some defense contracting. During the first ten months of my term in Congress, I have visited dozens of local small businesses and met with the owners of countless more.
As I shared with the group, one of the most disheartening messages I have come away with as I meet with these entrepreneurs, the aforementioned manufacturer included, is that if they had to decide whether or not to start their businesses in today's climate, they would opt not to take the risk. It is not a case of whether his business would be "as profitable" as suggested by Ms. Fratti; it is a case of whether his business would succeed, be able to grow, invest in the community and create jobs. It is a case of whether small businesses can care for - through the provision of good wages and health care benefits - their employees when the federal government consistently beats them down, taxes their labor and crushes their spirit.
Excessive federal regulations and increasing tax burdens necessitated by out-of-control federal spending are making it impossible for him to survive in business or to adequately care for his employees. That, despite the fact that orders are available to be filled, is pushing him and other similarly situated manufacturers out of business.
In spite of herself, Ms. Fratti, through her interview with an unnamed local employer, has made the case for businesses that are wary to hire today. As the owner she quoted states, "…I could go on about all other hassles I get from state and federal agencies, including audits, filings and registrations. Every single bit of it is discouraging me from investing time in helping my customers." He goes on to summarize the problems his business is facing by claiming that "the bottom line is that businesses are hunkered down from what they see as increasingly strong anti-business headwinds."
As part of this employer's characterization of the obstacles facing his business, and in the story about the manufacturer, neither made any mention of Republicans, Democrats, Obama or one of the GOP presidential hopefuls. It is not a case of pure politics, but of overbearing and ineffective government. It is safe to assume that should President Obama come before the nation tomorrow evening and announce long-term plans to control spending, reduce ineffective and onerous regulations and institute a pro-growth tax policy, local businesses would be anxious to expand and create new jobs. Were the President to pursue this path, there is little doubt that these entrepreneurs would, as Ms. Fratti puts it, wait "until my team is in the White House again."
While Ms. Fratti derides small-business owners as extortionists, she implies that the "masses" who have gathered in cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles are the patriots. These protesters are "waking up" in response to the "extortionists" waiting out the Obama administration as it aims to reshape the American economic system.
Having watched the Occupy Wall Street movement since its inception in New York in mid-September, their true intentions have yet to crystallize and be clearly articulated. Some protesters walk with signs that call for an end to the wars, others demand the criminal prosecution of Wall Street executives, while others still rally behind the idea of an expanded federal government all in the name of the "99%." None of these ideas, nor the literal occupation of public spaces in major U.S. cities, will bring about the conditions for the private sector to create the jobs Ms. Fratti is nominally advocating.
I will continue to work for my Pennsylvania constituents and with colleagues in the House of Representatives, the Senate and the President, as I have since January, to bring federal spending under control, pass legislation which will streamline and fairly enforce effective federal regulations and foster a pro-growth tax environment. The ultimate goal is not to win temporary and minor political victories – I aim to provide the small-business job creators, the true patriots who drive our economy, with the tools they need to lead us into a real and lasting economic recovery.

Sincerely,

Mike Fitzpatrick
Member of Congress

Fitzpatrick co-sponsors Freedom to Invest Act

2011-10-13T21:57:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Anthony Pontarelli
October 13, 2011		215-579-8102

Fitzpatrick co-sponsors Freedom to Invest Act

Encourages repatriation of American earnings

WASHINGTON, DC. – Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick joined six of his colleagues on a conference call this morning to discuss H.R. 1834, The Freedom to Invest Act of 2011, and the benefits of repatriation of funds that American companies are keeping overseas. Congressman Fitzpatrick joined Congressman James Lankford (R-OK), Congressman Robert Dold (R-IL), Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY), Congressman Todd Rokita (R-IN), and Congressman Tim Scott (R-SC) on the call.

This bipartisan legislation, if enacted, would provide temporary incentives for American businesses to bring home more than $1 trillion in global earnings, by allowing U.S. companies to repatriate in a one-year tax holiday, at an effective tax rate of 5.25%. The Freedom to Invest Act of 2011 was introduced by Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT). Congressman Fitzpatrick is a co-sponsor of the legislation and made the following statement during the call:

"We need long term tax reform, but in the mean time we need innovative proposals to create new American jobs in order to reduce the unemployment rate, which has been stubbornly stuck at over 9% since the end of last year. Repatriation is a bipartisan idea - I was pleased to learn that the House Blue Dogs endorsed the Freedom to Invest Act this week. With that, I believe that if the administration is serious about the idea of ending trillion dollar deficits, we need to bring American money back to our shores and engage it in research and development and facility construction and hiring because we are better off with this capital here in the United States."

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Media Advisory from Congressman Fitzpatrick

2011-10-12T19:26:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Anthony Pontarelli
October 12, 2011		215-579-8102

**MEDIA ADVISORY**

WHO: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, Congressman James Lankford (R-OK), Congressman Robert Dold (R-IL), Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY), Congressman Todd Rokita (R-IN), Congressman Tim Scott (R-SC), Dennis Ross (R-FL)

WHAT: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick will join a conference call with fellow members of the House freshmen class in support of repatriation on Thursday, October 13, 2011. These members are co-sponsors of H.R. 1834, The Freedom to Invest Act of 2011. Originally introduced by Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT), this legislation would tear down the destructive barrier of double taxation by opening a one-year tax holiday, allowing American companies to bring their overseas earnings back into the United States at an effective rate of 5.25%. This bipartisan, pro-growth legislation could inject nearly $1 trillion into the United States economy and spur immediate job creation while pushing for the long-term goal of comprehensive tax reform.

WHEN: Thursday, October 13, 2011, 9:00 a.m.
CALL IN: (605)-475-4000, access code 261651#

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Fitzpatrick signs letter to the President

2011-09-21T13:26:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Anthony Pontarelli
September 21, 2011		215-579-8102

Fitzpatrick signs letter to the President

Calls for full and consistent enforcement of immigration laws

WASHINGTON, DC. – Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick has joined members of the bipartisan Immigration Reform Caucus in signing a letter to President Obama opposing his August 18^th announcement of "the use of prosecutorial discretion to achieve amnesty for individuals who are illegally residing in the U.S."

"The selective enforcement of our nation's immigration laws is a step backwards in the process of reforming our immigration system," said Fitzpatrick. "While the President and I may not always agree on all facets of immigration policy, I am hopeful that securing our border and fully enforcing existing laws are two areas in which we can find common ground. The announcement of the administration's new policy in August is a tacit admission that we are unable to secure our border and effectively enforce our immigration laws. I hope the President reconsiders this decision and instead pursues a policy of full and consistent enforcement."

The letter urges the President to "enforce our immigration laws evenly without passion, prejudice or preference." A full copy of the text is included below:

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Members of the bipartisan Immigration Reform Caucus along with members of the House vehemently oppose your August 18, 2011 announcement to bypass Congress and use prosecutorial discretion to achieve amnesty for individuals who are illegally residing in the U.S. The manner with which your administration has introduced this policy not only robs the public of a thorough vetting, but it also fails to appreciate the negative consequences of this policy shift.

Over the last several years, with the support of the American public, Congress has consistently defeated amnesty proposals for illegal aliens. This recent effort appears to be nothing more than an attempt to avoid public review and unilaterally impose amnesty by picking and choosing which laws to enforce; or in this case, not to enforce, thereby enabling illegal aliens to remain in the country.

In addition, we are convinced the consequences of implementing this policy will include, but certainly not be limited to, the loss of public confidence and the encouragement of future illegal immigration. Even prior to this, the American public's confidence in the Administration to address illegal immigration was tenuous at best. This is evidenced by the number of states that have initiated and passed their own immigration enforcement laws. This shift in policy confirms the general public's suspicion that Administration is not serious about controlling illegal immigration.

Also, this policy has the added affect of further encouraging illegal immigration. Frankly put, if we don't take our own laws seriously enough to enforce, why should we expect anyone to follow them? This policy will introduce a new wave of illegal immigrants emboldened with the knowledge that not only is it okay to break the law, but they will likely be rewarded for it with de facto amnesty status; thereby exacerbating an already vicious cycle we as a nation have been trying to address for over two decades.

This attempt to satisfy the narrow interests of the pro-amnesty lobby has ultimately earned the distrust of the greater American public. Our fear is that this policy will irreparably harm the prospects of true immigration reform for many years to come. Mr. President, our request is simple: enforce our immigration laws evenly without passion, prejudice or preference.

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Woman pleads guilty in Bucks register of wills scandal (PA) – Estate of Denial

2011-09-17T21:17:00.001-04:00

http://www.estateofdenial.com/2011/09/17/woman-pleads-guilty-in-bucks-register-of-wills-scandal-pa/

Woman pleads guilty in Bucks register of wills scandal (PA)

September 17, 2011

A former Bucks County supervisor who pressured employees to politick on the taxpayers' dime, tallied illicit comp time in a secret ledger, and then shredded evidence as investigators closed in, pleaded guilty Wednesday to theft and other charges.

Candace Quinn became the first of four high-ranking officials charged March 4 in the county Register of Wills Office corruption scandal to admit wrongdoing.

The others – Barbara Reilly, who ruled the elected office for 35 years; First Deputy James McCullen; and former Second Deputy Rebecca Kiefer – are scheduled for trial Nov. 28.

Quinn, 53, of Bristol, "wanted to get this over with," said Deputy District Attorney Robin Twombly.

Getting past it might take a while. Quinn, who was offered no deal for her plea, is a potential witness in her former cohorts' trials, and will not be sentenced until afterward.

The most serious crimes she committed, felony theft and conspiracy, carry potential maximum sentences of seven years each. And Quinn's pre-November plea could further inflame the election-year rhetoric already surrounding the corruption case.

Democrats, frustrated by nearly three decades of Republican control of county government, say the scandal is the sort of thing that happens when one party is in power for too long.

Republicans counter that Reilly's political fiefdom was an elected row office, its daily workings removed from county commissioners' oversight. They note that the staffs of two GOP elected officials – County Controller Raymond McHugh and District Attorney David Heckler – wound up taking Reilly down.

"The political hay that people try to make out of this, whether that hay is wet and moldy or fit for consumption, is a decision the voters will make," Heckler said Wednesday.

Reilly, who has been out on extended medical leave, is not seeking reelection. Quinn and her lawyer, Douglas Rosenblum, declined to comment after the hearing.

In addition to her felony pleas, Quinn pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of obstructing law enforcement, official oppression, tampering with evidence, tampering with records, and conspiracy.

She also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor theft charge and a related conspiracy count.

The pleas were accepted by Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Senior Judge John Braxton, who is hearing the case because of potential conflicts of interest among Bucks County's mostly Republican bench.

Until her resignation last spring, Quinn worked in Reilly's office for 18 years, rising to become a trusted administrator.

As such, prosecutors say, Quinn helped direct an office rife with corruption and intimidation, where employees were forced to perform political work on county time and were punished for resisting.

"This practice of illegally paying employees for doing political work was able to continue for so long because of the people Reilly put in place to help her run her office," states a grand jury presentment supporting the charges.

Attribution:

Woman pleads guilty in Bucks register of wills scandal
Larry King
September 15, 2011
The Inquirer
http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-15/news/30160616_1_row-office-misdemeanor-theft-charge-plea

[conservative-201] We Read The Constitution Rally This Saturday -- See You There!

2011-09-15T10:57:00.001-04:00

Subject: [conservative-201] We Read The Constitution Rally This Saturday -- See You There!
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:27:55 -0400

Dear Patriot,

The weather forecast for this Saturday is sunny and just at 70 degrees; perfect for our "WE READ THE CONSTITUTION" rally at Washington Crossing State Park. Citizens from across the local area will come together to publically read the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. There will also be patriotic activities, music and fun for the entire family.

Here are the details again:

WE READ THE CONSTITUTION
1pm – Saturday, September 17th
Washington Crossing State Park
1112 River Road
Washington Crossing, PA
(Right by the Visitor's Center, you'll see the signs)

Help us promote the event!!! Copy and paste our website into your Facebook status bar, it will automatically populate with the event flyer! http://www.thomasjeffersonclub.org. Also write a comment, suggest: "Join me this Saturday at 1pm for a PUBLIC READING OF THE CONSTITUTION at Washington Crossing State Park! Fun for the whole family."

Special thanks for our friends at the Kitchen Table Patriots, Loyal Opposition, Americans for Prosperity and the Patriots of Lower Bucks for their co-sponsorship of the event.

Along with the Loyal Opposition, we are "sponsoring" a local unit of US Marines who are currently deployed in Afghanistan. Some of the Marines rarely receive a letter from back home, much less a care package. Consider writing a letter to a Marine; let them know we support the troops and thank them for their service. Tell them what's going on back home or ask how they are doing, or just express gratitude.

We will also collect items to send in care packages; items needed most are: Razors, contact solution, deodorant, powder, toothbrush, socks, suntan lotion etc. Snacks, including nuts, crackers, popcorn, trail mix and protein bars (no chocolate). Of course any magazines or philly sports-related reading would be great as well! We will also collect $1 to help defray shipping costs.

All letters and donations will be collected on Saturday at the park.

On behalf of the entire Club, I look forward to seeing you Saturday.

All the best,
Jeff McGeary & Audrey Strein
President Event Coordinator

September Unattended Veterans Service

2011-09-14T12:55:00.001-04:00

Unattended Veterans Service

Washington Crossing National Cemetery

Thursday

September 29, 2011

2:00 p.m.

Military Honors will be performed in honor of those veterans interred in the month of August who had no one attending their service.

The names will be read, the Pennsylvania Military Honors team will present the flag to a cemetery volunteer who will receive the flag on behalf of all of the veterans.

The Guardians will perform the rifle salute and provide live Taps if available. If not, the electronic bugle will be used.

The burial schedule has been blocked off after the 1:30 time slot to allow for our ceremony.

It is our hope that all cemetery employees will be present along with any interested individuals wishing to attend. Feel free to invite anyone you wish.

David J. Kolmetzky

Administrative Officer

Washington Crossing National Cemetery

830 Highland Road

Newtown, PA 18940

Office: 215-504-5610

Fax: 215-504-5611

Email: david.kolmetzky@va.gov

Fitzpatrick, Cicilline Applaud Funding of Northeast Corridor Rail Projects

2011-08-25T15:09:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
August 25, 2011		215-579-8102

Fitzpatrick, Cicilline Applaud Funding of Northeast Corridor Rail Projects

Lawmakers led bi-partisan effort to ensure critical repairs

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congressmen Mike Fitzpatrick (R, PA-8) and David Cicilline (D, RI-1) today applauded the recent decision by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to fund rail improvements along the Northeast Corridor that will help boost capacity, accelerate speeds, and improve service.

Earlier this month, on August 3^rd, Fitzpatrick and Cicilline wrote to Secretary LaHood urging the expedited obligation of $472 million for projects along the Northeast Corridor so that funds are not reallocated to projects outside the region. This week LaHood announced nearly $745 million in funding of two projects including improvements of sections between Trenton and New Brunswick, New Jersey that will allow Amtrak Acela trains to reach speeds of 160 mph and a separate project to alleviate Northeast Corridor rail traffic passing through New York City.

"Fast and efficient train service along the Northeast Corridor is essential to the movement of people and business in the most densely populated part of the United States," said Fitzpatrick and Cicilline in a joint statement. "With increasing gas prices and outdated infrastructure, rail is becoming an increasingly critical component of our nation's transportation system and our economy. From Bucks County to Providence, we applaud Secretary LaHood for his commitment to rail improvements that run through the hearts of our districts and the heart of America's commercial centers. Most importantly, these projects will create substantial construction and engineering jobs that will help put America back to work while improving our transportation network."

The Northeast corridor serves 13 million passengers annually, accounting for 52 percent of Amtrak passengers. Additionally, 19 of Amtrak's busiest stations are located along the Northeast Corridor. Construction on both projects is expected to begin in 2012.

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Green Light More Education Tax Credits | COMMENTARY by Matthew J. Brouillette

2011-08-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

Green Light More Education Tax Credits | COMMENTARY by Matthew J. Brouillette

Green Light More Education Tax Credits

Matthew J. Brouillette

Would you ever give a green light or a hard-earned nickel to a business model that showed it was going to hire more staff to service fewer customers by doubling the cost of production while keeping the quality substandard and worse than the global competition? Of course not, but that is exactly the model Pennsylvanians invested in through the public education system in the last decade.

Pennsylvania public school spending has rapidly increased despite declining enrollment, with little growth in academic achievement to show for it. Since 2000, public school spending rose 68 percent, from $15.3 billion to $25.8 billion in 2009-10. Over that time, enrollment in Pennsylvania public schools declined by 26,960 students, while schools have hired an additional 32,937 employees.

Despite spending more than $14,000 per student, only 40 percent of Pennsylvania's 8th-grade students scored at or above proficiency levels on the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading and mathematics exams. Along the way, we have produced what many call "failure factories," where 144 schools, Pa.'s bottom five percent, have failed to take more than 53 percent of their 11th graders above proficiency in reading and math.

In any grading book in America, 53 percent is an ‘F,' yet many in our state legislature seem to think we should keep things the same. To make things worse, the endorsement of the status quo will send many of these students back to violent schools. In the same 144 schools that cannot provide children basic skills for life, more than 5,400 acts of violence occurred in just the last recordable school year alone, including seven rapes and more than 3,000 assaults on students and staff.

But all is not gloom and doom for the Keystone State's education investment. For the past 10 years, Pennsylvania's highly innovative and popular Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program has provided educational options to low- and middle-income families across the commonwealth. These families were searching for alternatives to the sometimes dangerous and oftentimes failing government-run school assigned to them according to their ZIP code.

Through the direct engagement of businesses in the educational process, by providing the funding for scholarships in exchange for state tax credits, the EITC program has proven a tremendously successful partnership, awarding more than 284,000 scholarships worth $335 million.

In addition to helping individual families, this landmark program has saved Pennsylvania taxpayers millions of dollars each year. With an average scholarship of approximately $1,000, the EITC serves students for a fraction of the $14,000 spent per student by school districts.

The distinctive elements of the EITC focus on a partnership between parents, businesses, and scholarship organizations. This partnership shifts the focus from the educational institution to the needs of a child. When resources follow a child, that child and their family now have the choice to attend the school that best fits their needs.

These scholarships have helped families like the Littles of Mechanicsburg. Steve, a math teacher in the Harrisburg School District and his wife, Sheona, a fulltime mother who is finishing up her bachelor's degree, believed public school worked for some families, but didn't meet the needs of their three children, Tyrece, Tiara and Tamel.

After much investigation, they found Emmanuel Baptist Christian Academy in Camp Hill met every educational need for their children. Unfortunately, like most Pennsylvania families, Steve and Sheona didn't have the income or resources to send their children to private school. With the help of EITC scholarships, though, they enrolled Tyrece and Tiara at EBCA and Tamel followed just a few years later. Without this scholarship, the Littles would have no options.

Not surprisingly, demand for EITC scholarships far outweighs the available supply across the commonwealth. For example, the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia had 95,000 applications for 7,700 scholarships awarded over the last decade.

To fix the supply needs, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Tom Corbett must act quickly this fall to expand the EITC program. By doing so, Pennsylvania can continue to green light a program that better suits children's needs while rescuing them from oftentimes failing and violent schools.

# # #

The Commonwealth Foundation (www.commonwealthfondation.org) crafts free-market policies, convinces Pennsylvanians of their benefits, and counters attacks on liberty.

Activist Group: PA Has 2d Highest-Paid Legislature In The Land. - Capitol Ideas Blog

2011-08-15T17:02:00.000-04:00

http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2011/08/activist-group-pa-has-2d-highest-paid-legislature-in-the-land.html

Activist Group: PA Has 2d Highest-Paid Legislature In The Land.

Total People in Discussion: 3

Categories: Current Affairs, PA Governor, Politics

Here's Something To Think About ...
... as lawmakers go about their discussions of whether or not to reduce the size of the General Assembly: Pennsylvania lawmakers, at $79,613, have the second-highest base salaries in these 50 states, finishing only behind California.

The activist group, Rock the Capital, sent its list to Capitol reporters this morning. It's based on data compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures, an organization in Denver, Colo., that provides professional and policy support to legislatures across the country.

A few caveats: The salaries listed here are base salaries. In Pennsylvania, the top legislative leaders: The House speaker, Senate president and the two majority and minority leaders each receive enhancements to their take-home pay.

Also, though Pennsylvania lawmakers do earn this base salary, many write checks back to the Treasury or donate to local charities to offset an annual cost-of-living increase written into state law. The bump is based on the inflation rate in the Philadelphia area.

Here's the list:

1. California: $95,291
2. Pennsylvania: $79,613
3. New York: $79,500
4. Michigan: $71,685
5. Illinois: $67,836
6. Massachusetts: $61,133
7. Ohio: $60,584
8. Alaska: $50,400
9. Wisconsin: $49,943
10. New Jersey: $49,000

You'll note the differential in take-home pay between lawmakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey where the cost of living is... ohhhh .... roughly 1 billion times higher than it is in the Keystone State (*edited at 1:10 p.m. for clarity and additional sarcasm).

And for those of you playing along at home, the House State Government Committee is considering a slew of bills that would reduce the size of the General Assembly. Any such effort would require a change to the state Constitution, which requires a bill to be passed in two legislative sessions and then approved by voters at a statewide referendum.

One of the leading efforts comes from House Speaker Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, who's floating a bill that would shrink the House from its current 203-member complement to 153 members. Smith's proposal doesn't touch the Senate, but other bills making the rounds would shave 10 to 23 seats from the 50-member chamber.

Still other bills suggest reducing the House from 203 to 185, and increasing the length of legislative terms from the current two years to four years. Under one such proposal, senators would be elected to six-year terms rather than the current four years, now ex-Capitol Ideas Intern Sari Heidenreich reported the other week.

As we noted earlier this morning, Charlie Greenwalt of the Susquehanna Policy Center says that a reduction in size of the General Assembly doesn't always correlate to a taxpayer savings unless there's a reduction in support services and staff as well.

Lawmakers’ pensions could change to 401(k)-style plans | PA Independent

2011-08-13T09:59:00.000-04:00

http://paindependent.com/2011/08/lawmakers%e2%80%99-pensions-could-change-to-401k-style-plans/

Lawmakers' pensions could change to 401(k)-style plans

Analysts say move will do little to fix problems.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent

HARRISBURG — The exceptional pension benefits available to state lawmakers might be facing the ax as part of a Republican plan to overhaul the state system.

A bill introduced by state Rep. Tim Krieger, R-Westmoreland, would move all members of the General Assembly from defined benefit pension plans to 401(k)-style defined contribution plans, including current members. Other state workers who are also members of the State Employee Retirement System, or SERS, pension system would not be affected by the legislation.

"It is no secret that the state's pension systems are in … distress," wrote Krieger in a memo to other lawmakers asking for support on the bill. "I believe, as elected officials, that we should lead by example."

If passed, the changes would take effect following the next election, even for current members. The entire state House is up for re-election in 2012, along with half of the state Senate. The remaining half of the state Senate would flip to the new plan following the election in 2014.

Pennsylvania: politics and government - mcall.com

2011-08-10T11:39:00.000-04:00

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-shrink-the-legislature-20110809,0,1711825.story

Speaker proposes downsizing state House to 153 members

House panel hears testimony on plans to shrink the General Assembly.

By Sari Heidenreich, Special to The Morning Call

11:10 p.m. EDT, August 9, 2011

HARRISBURG—

— Having a conversation with three or four people can be a real headache.

Try having one with 203 people elected to represent uniquely individual districts where interests don't always coincide.

And that's why the state House, which has that many members, must be downsized, House Speaker Sam Smith told a legislative panel Tuesday.

"I've seen how the legislative debate goes, and I know there are people sitting there, wanting to say something important, but the debate drags out and you kind of think, 'Ah, you know, we've been at this for four hours. I won't; I'll just sit down,' " said Smith, R-Jefferson.

Debates involving such a large number of people are inefficient, he said, and don't lend themselves to fostering mutual understanding.

"If I have understanding, at least then you keep the debate on the facts and not on the personality or emotions," he said. The debate would be easier to understand, he said, if Pennsylvania's House of Representatives were reduced to 153 members, as his bill proposes.

Those fighting to keep the Legislature at its current size say the model serves the state well and enables its citizens to connect with their House members, who, according to the National Conference of State Legislators, each represent 62,000 constituents.

Tuesday's meeting of the House State Government Committee was the latest move in a long-standing debate about reducing the size of Pennsylvania's House, the second largest in the nation.

Corbett thinks voters would support plan to cut state House - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

2011-08-09T11:01:00.001-04:00

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_750595.html

Corbett thinks voters would support plan to cut state House

By Brad Bumsted and Mike Wereschagin, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Multimedia

PDF: Constituents per district
How Pennsylvania compares with neighbor states
View PDF Now

About the writer

Brad Bumsted is the Tribune-Review's state Capitol reporter and can be reached at 717-787-1405, via e-mail. or on Twitter.

HARRISBURG -- Speaker Sam Smith's proposal to cut the size of the state House has a good chance of becoming law if voters have their say, Gov. Tom Corbett said on Monday.

Smith, R-Jefferson County, is scheduled to testify today before the State Government Committee on H.B. 153, his constitutional amendment to reduce the size of the House to 153 members from 203. It would leave unchanged the 50-member Senate.

As a proposed constitutional amendment, it would need approval from two successive legislative sessions and the state's voters.

"(If) we get that on the ballot, I'd be very surprised if it didn't pass," Corbett said during an event in Highland Park.

Smith's is one of five bills on reducing the size of the General Assembly that legislators will vet at the hearing.

Lawmakers have for decades offered bills to reduce the size of the General Assembly, and legislative leaders have uniformly ignored them. Corbett indicated Smith's bill is the most likely to pass because the speaker sponsored it.

Pennsylvania to try teacher evaluation pilot program

2011-08-08T10:31:00.000-04:00

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11220/1165984-298.stm

Pennsylvania to try teacher evaluation pilot program

20 percent of schools will take part in program beginning this term

Monday, August 08, 2011

By Lauren Rosenthal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Every spring, assessment letters appear in educators' mailboxes across the state.

Theoretically, a negative performance review could change the course of an instructor's career. But from a statistical standpoint, there is nothing to fear: A whopping 99 percent of Pennsylvania teachers and principals learned this year that reviewers think their work is satisfactory.

But as Jeannine French, Pittsburgh Public Schools' chief of performance, puts it, where does a teacher go from there?

"What a letdown to know you're 'satisfactory' after all that hard work," Ms. French said at a best-practices-in-education conference for teachers and principals in Allegheny Intermediate Unit No. 3 on Friday. "It doesn't tell you how to get better."

Federal officials, state governments and school districts from coast to coast agree that current teacher evaluations, which are usually administered by principals, are missing the mark. Last week, Pennsylvania became the latest state to express interest in a serious overhaul of the system used to determine which teachers are making the grade and which are under-serving students.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11220/1165984-298.stm#ixzz1URpXSJit

The Tea Party "Terrorists"...

2011-08-07T12:46:00.000-04:00

(snip)

Commentary:

So much for civility...Vice President Joseph R. Biden believes Tea Party Republicans are right wing jihadists. Following the debt ceiling deal, in a private Democratic Caucus meeting, Mr. Biden joined several Democrats in accusing conservative House Republicans of behaving like “terrorists.”

“We have negotiated with terrorists,” said Rep. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, according to a report in Politico citing several sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.”

According to Politico, Mr. Biden responded by saying: “They have acted like terrorists.” The White House has tried to walk back those statements. Mr. Biden claims he never said them. President Obama’s press spokesman eventually called such inflammatory rhetoric “inappropriate.”

For the record: I don’t believe Mr. Biden. This is a man with a long, well documented history of mendacity, plagiarism and making irresponsible statements. He said it, and he knows he said it. Multiple sources confirmed it.

Moreover, it is part of a larger liberal pattern of smearing the Tea Party movement during the debate about raising the debt limit. It was not just Mr. Biden and Mr. Doyle who declared small government Republicans to be the American equivalent of the Taliban or Hizbullah. MSNBC host Chris Matthews likened Tea Partyers to “terrorists” and “hostage-takers.” Newsweek’s Tina Brown called them “suicide bombers.” In short, for the Democratic left, the Tea Party is evil incarnate. Contrast this to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Democrat, which triggered a huge, and largely manufactured, debate about the devastating effects of incendiary rhetoric. In particular, the media and political class blamed Sarah Palin, conservative talk radio and the American right for the tragedy, especially their alleged over the top use of metaphors in excoriating opponents. Never mind that the act was perpetrated by a lone madman who hardly ever listened to Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh or Mrs. Palin. He was driven by pathological malice, not politics. The liberals’ narrative was clear: The Tea Party was somehow to blame. Mr. Obama even urged a new “national discourse” based on “civility.” That was then; this is now.

Leftist expediency now requires that the most heinous, reckless and degrading comments be used. Tea Partyers are not simply being slandered, they are being dehumanized. Ironically, it is liberals who are paving the way for potential political violence. Terrorists, hostage-takers, suicide bombers, neo-Nazis, the Christian Taliban, all of the epithets regularly thrown at Tea Party members by rabid progressives, eventually foster one overriding emotion: hatred. It is not much of a leap for some deranged Democratic activist to conclude that the only way to defeat the phantom specter of marching right wing jihadists is to slaughter them. The Black Panthers, the Weathermen, the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Unabomber, the U.S. radical left has been littered with violent movements marked by the irrational loathing of a menacing Middle America.

Yet the recent attacks on Tea Partyers are more than dangerous and hypocritical. They represent the gradual dissolution of America’s social compact. We are no longer one nation, but two, liberal and conservative. Blue state versus red state; left versus right; progressivism versus traditionalism. The country is splintering along ideological lines. In some ways, it was inevitable. The 1960s unleashed powerful forces, militant feminism, anti Americanism, pacifism and the sexual revolution. Radical leftists have ruthlessly pursued their goal to erect a multicultural social democracy. Having slowly taken over the commanding heights of popular culture, the universities, public schools, the courts, the establishment media and the mammoth federal bureaucracies and government agencies, they are on the cusp of achieving their national transformation. The Obama presidency is the culmination of the 1960s left’s long march to power.

This is why Tea Party activists are so reviled by liberal Democrats: They are traditional America’s last line of defense. It also is why the debt ceiling debate was so bitter. Mr. Obama won. The president outmaneuvered House Speaker John A. Boehner at nearly every turn. Mr. Obama got exactly what he wanted. The debt limit was raised by $2.4 trillion, the largest increase in the government’s borrowing authority in history. The issue will not be revisited until after the 2012 election, sparing the president another crippling debate about our skyrocketing debt and record deficits. And the deal solidifies Mr. Obama’s high base line spending levels, guaranteeing that at least another $7 trillion will be added to the national debt over the next 10 years. The much touted spending cuts are meager and mostly illusory.

Instead of celebrating, progressives are fuming. Why? There is one reason: Tea Partyers have finally changed the public debate. The movement rightly understands that a European style welfare state requires European level taxation. High spending inevitably breeds high taxes. Mr. Obama realizes this as well, which is why he is determined to gorge the federal beast, relentlessly ratchet up borrowing and spending to where Americans face only two choices: Go bankrupt or become a permanent serf of Uncle Sam. Most Americans want neither. They agree with the Tea Party that spending must be slashed, the budget balanced and fiscal responsibility restored. They do not wish to become Greece.

For the first time in decades, the left is meeting broad, sustained resistance. Its socialist utopia, so close and yet so far, is slipping away, the victim of economic reality. The entitlement society is unsustainable; it is crumbling under its massive, big government weight. For progressives, this is why Tea Partyers are “terrorists”, political insurgents who are willing to stand up to the venal, decrepit liberal regime. Yet Tea Partyers are America’s freedom fighters; they are forcing the federal government to begin devolving power back to the people.

(snip)

Former state Rep. John Kennedy targets political pensions

2011-08-07T11:34:00.001-04:00

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11219/1165835-454.stm

Former state Rep. John Kennedy targets political pensions

Conservative sets own goal for Capitol

Sunday, August 07, 2011

By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- Former state Rep. John Kennedy has been a pain in the neck of Harrisburg's career politicians for 25 years, and now he's set a new goal: ending expensive legislative pensions.

Mr. Kennedy, a Cumberland County Republican, served in the House from 1980-88 and infuriated his GOP colleagues in 1986 by vociferously opposing a move to sweeten their state pensions.

When the move was narrowly defeated, "There were some Republicans who wanted to kick my butt,'' said Mr. Kennedy, who also lambasted the later-repealed 2005 legislative pay raise.

Now he's focused on eliminating the hefty taxpayer-funded pensions that retired legislators have given themselves for years, which have cost the public millions. His anger was fueled by reports that a few recent 30-year retirees are getting more than $100,000 a year, with a couple of pensions even topping $200,000.

He is chairman of a new group of political conservatives called the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania, which two weeks ago kicked off the "Ben Franklin Project" -- an extensive search for 2012 House and Senate candidates who will agree not to accept a state-funded pension if elected. He also wants candidates who will support term limits for legislators.

Citizens Alliance was formed a year ago but has largely stayed under the radar. In November 2010, it helped elect five pension opponents to the House. Now, a sixth House member and a senator, Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, have joined their ranks.

"There is nothing in the state Constitution about pensions for legislators," Mr. Kennedy said in an interview last week. "We are trying to do something about legislative excesses that cost taxpayers money."

For 2012, Citizens Alliance has interviewed more than a dozen potential candidates so far, requiring them to give their views on 18 issues -- ending pensions, controlling state spending, privatizing liquor sales, permitting school choice, limiting noneconomic damage in lawsuits and others.

Update from Congressman Fitzpatrick

2011-08-03T12:09:00.000-04:00

August 2, 2011

Dear Neighbor,

Over the last few weeks hundreds of constituents from across the Eighth Congressional District have contacted my office regarding our nation’s debt crisis. The opinions you have expressed on how to resolve this situation have been varied and informative. The overwhelming sentiment has been that Congress and the President must act quickly to resolve the current fiscal crisis facing our nation. I am sending you this email today to update you on this important issue because you have the right to know the truth about America’s budget and I have the responsibility to deliver it.

Recently, both Congress and the American public have been focused on the August 2nd deadline to raise the federal government’s debt limit or risk default. Credit rating agencies have raised red flags that in addition to raising the federal debt limit, we must also get our budget deficit under control in order to preserve our nation’s AAA credit rating – the highest possible rating. On May 31st, Congress rejected, by a strong bi-partisan vote of 318-97, a “clean” debt limit increase that did not include any spending cuts or other deficit reduction measures.

This week, Congress passed a plan that increases our nation’s debt limit and makes fundamental fiscal reforms that will help prevent such a crisis in the future. This plan, which I supported, received bi-partisan support in the House and the Senate. It received my support because it contains three essential elements necessary to restore our nation’s fiscal health by cutting government spending more than the debt ceiling increase, implementing spending caps to restrain future government growth, and advancing the cause of a balanced budget amendment.

This is how the plan achieves these goals. First, it will provide for an immediate increase in the debt ceiling by $900 billion while reducing spending by $917 billion. Second, the plan creates a bi-partisan Joint Committee to propose an additional $1.2 – 1.5 trillion in deficit reduction measures. Congress would be required to adopt all the Joint Committee’s recommendations or across the board spending cuts would take effect automatically. This Joint Committee was a key element of Senator Harry Reid’s original plan. Finally, there are incentives for Congress to send to the states a balanced budget amendment. Currently, 49 of the 50 states have constitutional provisions requiring their budgets to be balanced every year, and the federal government should follow their lead.

The plan enacted this week is not perfect, but it represents a balance among various proposals and avoids a default by the federal government. It also makes substantial cuts to federal spending that will begin to restore fiscal order; however, additional deficit reduction measures are still required to put us on a steady trajectory towards a balanced federal budget. I am particularly disappointed this plan does not include the necessary tax reforms to create a fairer tax structure by closing loopholes and requiring everyone to pay their fair share of taxes – including individuals and companies. Such reforms are necessary if we are to achieve fiscal stability in the long term. I will continue to advocate for tax reform and hope that the bipartisan committee will include serious tax reform in the proposal to Congress next year.

I highly value input from you and other constituents across the Eighth Congressional District. During the debate on the debt limit your comments have been particularly helpful. I encourage you to email your concerns and comments on this issue directly to PA08DebtCeiling@mail.house.gov. Additionally, you can visit my website at Fitzpatrick.house.gov for regular updates on this and other important issues facing our nation or to sign up for my bi-weekly e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

Mike Fitzpatrick
Member of Congress

P.S. - This plan represents only a beginning of what must be a continuing conversation. We are moving forward but the fate of our economy and our country depend on us finally getting serious about America’s fiscal health.

Fitzpatrick Supports Bi-partisan Plan on Debt Ceiling, Deficit Reduction

2011-08-01T20:44:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
August 1, 2011

Fitzpatrick Supports Bi-partisan Plan on Debt Ceiling, Deficit Reduction

Compromise plan avoids default and makes fundamental fiscal reforms

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick issued the following statement after the United States House of Representatives passed the Budget Control Act of 2011. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 269-161. The Senate is expected to consider the legislation shortly.

"Today, along with a strong bi-partisan majority of my colleagues, I supported this compromise legislation because it contained certain core criteria that makes progress towards addressing our federal deficit head-on while make necessary reforms to restore our nation's long-term fiscal health.

"The recent protracted debate over our nation's debt ceiling has been the result of out of control federal spending that has gone on for too long. The Budget Control Act implements fundamental changes to address our nation's fiscal health. First, this legislation cuts federal spending by more than the amount of the debt ceiling increase. Second, the Budget Control Act institutes spending caps that will prevent future debt ceiling brinksmanship, a hallmark of all that is wrong with Washington. Finally, today's vote advances the cause of a balanced budget amendment, something already contained in the constitutions of 49 of the 50 states.

"While today's vote is a first step towards fiscal sanity, it is an important one. Congress and the President must continue to work together to prevent our deficits from overwhelming our economy and our nation.

###

AG Audit Finds Rampant PLCB Waste and Mismanagement | NEWS RELEASE

2011-08-01T10:27:00.001-04:00

AG Audit Finds Rampant PLCB Waste and Mismanagement | NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jay Ostrich 717.671.1901; cell: 717.649.6547 | jdo@commonwealthfoundation.org

AG Audit Finds Rampant PLCB Waste and Mismanagement

CF renews call to end government liquor sales

HARRISBURG, PA (08.01.11)—The Commonwealth Foundation strongly condemned the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board today for systematic waste and abuse of taxpayer money and assets following a scathing Pa. Auditor General audit report that found rampant agency mismanagement of inventory and finances.

Among the findings in the most recently released 48-page 2009-2010 audit, now quietly buried within the AG Web site without public comment or recommendations, AG investigators found:

The agency spent more than $66 million taxpayer dollars on the Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP), a computerized inventory management tool that caused widespread shortages at PLCB distribution centers and cost two-and-a-half times the original plans. According to the report, "retail store managers began hoarding some merchandise items, leaving other retail stores without that merchandise. This exacerbated the existing inventory shortages at stores; items were out of stock and unavailable to customers."
Compounding the problem, PLCB management then demanded purchasers order excessive inventory due to the shortages. The report found, "In addition to acknowledging that it tried to buy itself out of the out-of-stock and hoarding situations, management also indicated that it could not change the volume of inventory coming into the distribution centers even though they were overflowing with excess product because vendors had already processed these orders".
These decisions resulted in more inventory than space, a situation made worse by the fact that, despite already having excess, the PLCB couldn't stop the ERP system from ordering more. Due to the mismanaged inventories, the PLCB then spent approximately $500,000 for trailer rentals and additional security guards. According to investigators, "The trailers containing the merchandise were located off site and were in use for at least six weeks when our auditors uncovered the PLCB'S use of these non-temperature controlled trailers."
- Scranton: Inventory more than doubled to 606,383 cases in 2010, causing additional warehouse space to be acquired.
- Pittsburgh: Inventory jumped from 300,000 cases to 575,000 cases in 2010, exceeding storage capacity. PLCB management decided to put 72,277 cases of excess merchandise in 57 non-temperature controlled trailers.
- Philadelphia: Inventory reached 763,470 cases. 20,240 cases were moved to non-temperature controlled trailers.
Moreover, investigators found PLCB management claimed storing excess inventory in non-temperature-controlled trailers, despite heat exceeding 100, did not put inventory at risk of spoilage. Auditors found this to be false, observing, "merchandise stockpiled in the non-temperature controlled trailers such as wine and champagne actually was more susceptible to high heat." Contrary to the finding, the PLCB continues to deny widespread spoilage and an accurate account of money lost due to overheating remains unreported.

Of the systemic problems, the audit went on to conclude, in part, that auditors, "received little response from management to demonstrate its follow up and resolution to ensure that store inventories are properly accounted for."

"This fiasco is just the latest in a series of failures by the PLCB to be good stewards of taxpayer money, and clearly illustrates why legislators should be shouting ‘last call' for government in the booze business," said Matthew J. Brouillette, Commonwealth Foundation president and CEO. "It's unconscionable that Pennsylvania government continues to protect and promote a Prohibition-era monopoly so antiquated and inept that it has taken basic freedoms from consumers and robbed taxpayers and businesses of free-market benefits."

The report comes just weeks after PLCB Chairman P.J. Stapleton III publically boasted about record-setting sales, but neglected to cite the AG audit that found that while overall sales have increased, net revenues from store operations have declined nearly 47 percent, from FY June 30, 2008 to FY June 30, 2010. The PLCB release also failed to cite salaries, benefits and pension costs of more than $215 million last year or the millions spent each year to advertise and promote liquor sales.

"In order to keep themselves in business, the PLCB is only giving taxpayers and consumers a glass-half-full spin, when in reality the glass is nearly empty," said Brouillette. "This proves once again that monopolies, whether public or private, fail to meet consumer and taxpayer needs."

CF is calling for an immediate end to the PLCB's role as seller and distributor of wine and spirits, a system of full government control that now sees Pennsylvania as one of only two remaining states in the nation (the other is Utah) with such draconian measures.

"The people of Pennsylvania know this issue isn't about just about liquor and money, it's about freedom and ridding ourselves of government monopolies, manipulation and mediocrity," said Brouillette. "It's time our leaders listen to the demands of their constituents who want government to butt out of the booze business."

In a June Quinnipiac Poll, Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly called for the sale of 644 state-run stores, with broad-based bipartisan support reaching more than 69 percent.

# # #

The Commonwealth Foundation (CommonwealthFoundation.org) is an independent, non-profit public policy research and educational institute based in Harrisburg, PA.

Statement from Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick on the Passage of Budget Control Act of 2011

2011-07-29T18:41:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
July 29, 2011

Statement from Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick on the Passage of Budget Control Act of 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick issued the following statement following the House approval of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

"Today, I joined my colleagues in the House of Representatives in voting for a plan that increases the federal debt ceiling. This increase in the federal debt ceiling was accompanied by meaningful and substantial spending cuts that will help move our nation towards real deficit reduction without raising taxes. This is a feature of both the current Senate and House proposals. It also locks in savings to provide predictability to the budget process in the future and requires a balanced budget amendment be submitted to the states. Finally, the plan includes a centerpiece of Senator Reid's proposal by establishing a bipartisan committee to recommend and enact additional cost savings.

"The approval of this legislation marks the second time in as many weeks that the House of Representatives has acted to increase our nation's debt limit. During this time, the Senate has not voted on a single plan to raise the debt ceiling or attack our long term deficits. In fact, Senator Reid has resisted virtually every effort by the House to cut federally spending.

"The plan that the House passed today is not perfect, but strikes a balance between the House and Senate proposals. It makes substantial cuts to federal spending that will begin to restore fiscal order, but additional deficit reduction measures are still required to put us on a steady trajectory towards a balanced federal budget. I am disappointed that this plan does not make necessary changes to the federal tax code, like closing loopholes that allow some individuals and companies avoid paying their fair share. I will continue to advocate for such reforms in the future.

"While this plan has obvious shortcomings, it does prevent the federal government from defaulting on its obligations while addressing the structural fiscal deficiencies that plague our nation presently and threaten our strength in the future. Senator Reid now has the House's preferred plan—cut, cap and balance, as well as this compromise plan before the Senate to choose from. I will remain in Washington this weekend awaiting Senate action and I call on Senator Reid and the President to enact this legislation."

###

states-pay-most-least-taxes-247wallst: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

2011-07-28T10:50:00.000-04:00

http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/113173/states-pay-most-least-taxes-247wallst

States Where People Pay the Most (and Least) in Taxes

by 24/7 Wall St. Staff
Thursday, July 21, 2011

By Charles B. Stockdale, Michael B. Sauter, Douglas A. McIntyre

Different states tax their residences at different levels. In some states, like New Jersey, residents pay 12.2% as a percentage of their income. In others, like Alaska, they pay as little as 6.3%. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a report recently released by the Tax Foundation to identify the states where residents paid the most and least in state and local taxes as a percent of income.

The amount varies widely as not all states have the same sources of revenue. Some get more from business levies than others. Some have a statewide sales tax. Some cities and towns tax property based on value, while others don't. The issue of what people are taxed at the state and local level is complex, among other reasons, because states often receive a large amount of their tax receipts from sources other than the simple payments of state residents.

The Tax Foundation report, "State-Local Tax Burdens Fall in 2009 as Tax Revenues Shrink Faster than Income," shows the extent of the differences. The most important reason for the variation is that some states generate a significant amount of their tax revenue from businesses and out-of-state residents, thereby minimizing the burden of taxes borne by residents. Alaska, for example, gets 80% of tax receipts from such sources. State residents get the equivalent of a subsidy from some of the world's largest oil companies.

Conversely, states with low out-of-state business receipts must collect a higher percent of taxes from their residents. This is case in New Jersey, which gets only 20% of its tax receipts from such sources. As a matter of fact, most of the really large companies in the region are on the other side of New Jersey's northeast border in New York State, thereby creating a higher burden on residents.

Mark Robyn, economist at the Tax Foundation and author of the report, told 24/7 Wall St. that the "study accounts for the fact that all states are able to some extent to shift their tax burden onto the taxpayers of other states. Much of this 'tax exporting' happens naturally through no special effort by policymakers, but some states have special sources of revenue that allow them to export more of their burden to non-residents. For example, Nevada relies on tourism taxes, while Alaska, Wyoming and North Dakota rely heavily on oil taxes that are passed on to consumers around the country."

The Tax Foundation's report divides state tax revenue into two categories: the amount contributed by residents, including income, property and sales tax, and the amount contributed by non-residents, including taxes paid by out-of-state businesses and taxes collected by in-state business and paid by out-of-state residents. According to the Tax Foundation, because residents effectively pay more as consumers and receive less as employees as a result of corporate taxes, some business tax is also considered borne by the resident. Taxes paid by out-of-state business to the state include the tax Alaska collects from out-of-state oil companies to operate in the state. Taxes collected by in-state business from out-of-state residents include tax on things like sales tax and revenue from tourism.

In addition to the report from the Tax Foundation, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the Census Bureau, the Federation of Tax Administrators, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

The total tax burden an individual pays refers to the percentage of state residents' income that goes to state and local taxes, and, on top of that, what each person must pay the federal government. The equation that puts all of those numbers together is complicated, and is among the reasons that the debate over federal taxes is so heated. People often end up with payments to several tax authorities. Their nominal federal tax rate may mean very little when it comes to what must be paid to all applicable government bodies at the end of each year. The amount that a person keeps from each dollar that he or she earns can be affected more by local government needs than those of the federal government.

These are the states where residents pay the most and least in taxes.

The Ten States with the Highest Tax Burdens

10. Pennsylvania
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 10.1%
Total state and local taxes collected: $109.7 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 76.3%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 23.7%

Pennsylvania has among the largest revenues in the country. The great majority of this money comes from its residents. Approximately one third of state tax revenue comes from individual income taxes. Another one half comes from various sales taxes. Pennsylvania also has the highest state corporate tax rate in the country. There are a number of ways the state could increase the amount of taxes it "exports" to non-residents, however. The state can further expand its burgeoning gambling industry. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, $81.4 million in tax revenue was generated by table games in the most recent fiscal year. The state could also pass a tax on natural-gas drilling, as it is currently the only state without one.

Federal government Pennsylvania insurance rate review - mcall.com

2011-07-28T10:43:00.001-04:00

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pennsylvania-insurance-review-20110727,0,2217658.story

Feds to study small-business insurance rates

They're stepping in because of gap in Pennsylvania's regulation of the market.

By Tim Darragh, Of The Morning Call

10:47 p.m. EDT, July 27, 2011

The federal government will review health insurance rate increases on small businesses in Pennsylvania, a market that former Gov. Ed Rendell last year said was being exploited with "truly exorbitant" cost increases.

Pennsylvania is one of 10 states where the Department of Health and Human Services will review rate increases, normally a state function. A loophole in Pennsylvania law leaves the small group market partially unregulated, and under the Obama administration's health reform law, if a state doesn't do the job, the federal government will, starting Sept. 1.

The department will determine if rate increases of 10 percent or more are justified. In announcing the policy change in May, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said publicizing excessive rate increases will act as a brake on other companies' considering similar moves.

Survey: Retirees in Pa. not well off

2011-07-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

http://post-gazette.com/pg/11195/1160294-28-0.stm

Survey: Retirees in Pa. not well off

Nearly half have less than $50,000

Thursday, July 14, 2011

By Tim Grant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In Pennsylvania, 46 percent of retirees have a net worth of less than $50,000 and 30 percent earn less than half of their pre-retirement income, according to survey partly funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

The Elder Pennsylvanian Survey conducted by Widener University in Chester, in southeastern Pennsylvania, found that the state's residents were hit hard by the Great Recession.

For instance, 70 percent of those surveyed were worried about outliving their retirement savings, while only 50 percent had that fear in 2007.

Today, 68 percent worry about spending all their money on health care before age 75, compared with 2007, when that was a fear for 57 percent.

Many elders living on pensions and Social Security in a world of rising expenses have been forced to rely on charity and social service agencies for basic needs such as food.

Read more: http://post-gazette.com/pg/11195/1160294-28-0.stm#ixzz1S5bN6aOk

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Supports Reauthorization of National Flood Insurance Program

2011-07-13T15:38:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
July 13, 2011

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Supports Reauthorization of National Flood Insurance Program

Five year reauthorization will help protect Bucks County families

WASHINGTON, D.C.—With the support of Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 1309, which provides for a five year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, currently set to expire on September 30, 2011. The legislation would authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to continue selling and renewing policies through September of 2016 and make several reforms to keep the program solvent in the future. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 406-22.

"The beauty of the Delaware River and its tributaries is too often matched by the flooding and destruction it causes in our communities," said Fitzpatrick. "The National Flood Insurance Program is an important tool to make sure Bucks County residents are protected when disaster strikes. The necessity of this program has been demonstrated time and time again during flooding over the last several years. We need to make sure the program is put on firm financial footing to continue in the future."

In 1968, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program to address the nation's flood exposure and the need to alleviate taxpayers' responsibility for flood losses paid out in the form of post-disaster relief following annual flooding and severe flooding following hurricanes. At the time, Congress recognized that the inherent challenges of managing flood risk were too great for the private sector and that no viable private sector insurance alternative existed. The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 established a mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement for structures located in identified Special Flood Hazard Areas.

Bill Jones, a resident of Lower Makefield Township along the Delaware River, expressed his support of the renewal of the National Flood Insurance Program. "This is an important program," said Jones. "I'm glad Congressman Fitzpatrick and other members of Congress have voted to ensure it will continue to help protect our communities in the future."

As part of the five year reauthorization, H.R. 1309 would phase in risk-based premiums, and reduce subsidies for certain properties, including high-risk buildings subject to repeat claims. It also addresses risk mapping standards and mitigation assistance. Finally, the bill confirms FEMA's authority to utilize private reinsurance in lieu of taxpayer exposure to mitigate risk, and directs the agency to report on proposals from the private market for assuming risk within the program.

###

YouTube - ‪Legislative Update - July 8, 2011‬‏

2011-07-08T16:00:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64rFiRcflZ4&sns=em

Congressman Fitzpatrick Demands Senate Budget Action

2011-07-08T15:36:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
July 8, 2011

Congressman Fitzpatrick Demands Senate Budget Action

800 days of inaction marked by increased spending and higher unemployment

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick today demanded that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid take the necessary measures to pass a fiscally responsible budget. A letter, being sent by Fitzpatrick and colleagues to Senator Reid, calls for the Senate to adjust its summer calendar to ensure consideration and passage of a budget proposal prior to the start of the next fiscal year in September.

"Today marks 800 days since the Democrat-controlled United States Senate has passed a budget. Our nation's economy is sputtering, out-of-control spending continues unabated, and the unemployment rate is on the rise," said Fitzpatrick. "The House of Representatives has been considering and passing appropriations bills that recognize our fiscal reality and fund our nation's priorities. Meanwhile, Senator Reid has repeatedly failed to pass a budget, take meaningful action on spending cuts, and act on important reforms sent to him by the House. American families don't get 800 days to figure out how or if they are going to pay their bills, and neither should Senator Reid."

Fitzpatrick has also cosponsored legislation which will effectively defund House and Senate Budget Committees and leadership offices responsible for passage of a budget resolution in the event that they fail to act. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires each house of Congress to pass a concurrent resolution on the budget every year. The House has fulfilled its obligation to produce a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, yet the Senate has failed to approve all budgetary measures passed by the House.

"With no responsible budget in place, economic uncertainty is hindering job creation and is slowing our recovery," said Fitzpatrick, "This letter to Senator Reid demonstrates the House's commitment to fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities and placing our nation on the path to economic prosperity."

The text of the letter is below:

Majority Leader Harry Reid

S-221, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Leader Reid:

As the House of Representatives works through the Appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2012, we are encouraged by the progress that the House has made – both in the Appropriations Committee and on the House floor. Unlike the 111^th Congress, we have fulfilled our constitutional responsibilities by passing a budget, one that reduces spending, creates jobs, reins in cost-driving programs, and ultimately eliminates the debt. We have shown our strong commitment to set the nation's course towards fiscal stability, and to do so in a responsible time frame.

Yet, as we look ahead, we are deeply concerned with the lack of progress in the Senate. As Majority Leader, you have not brought any of the appropriations bills passed by the House this year up for consideration. While the House is on track to complete all 12 appropriations bills prior to the start of the fiscal year on September 30, the Senate has failed to produce a budget or consider these appropriations bills, which will inevitably result in yet another Continuing Resolution– perhaps even the threat of a government shutdown that we experienced earlier this year. Given that pervasive uncertainty is holding back job creation, we believe a change in your summer calendar is necessary.

As it stands now, the Senate will recess during the month of August and reconvene on September 6 - just over three weeks before the fiscal year begins. At the pace the Senate is progressing, this is not nearly enough time for Congress to consider and, ideally, pass the bills prior to the start of the fiscal year. Therefore, we ask that you keep the Senate in session throughout August so that you can pass a budget and complete the pending appropriations bills sent to you from the House. We stand ready to stay in session if necessary.

While being with constituents is absolutely essential to providing effective representation, the profound fiscal challenges facing our country call for timely, decisive action. The roadblock is clearly the Senate. We encourage you to keep the Senate in session in August, which would show that the Senate schedule reflects the challenges facing our country. It would also be a clear, and we believe, welcomed signal to the American people that the nation's leaders are wisely leading America to a stronger fiscal path.

###

DR News: Lawmakers' Spin Machines Working Overtime

2011-07-01T15:09:00.001-04:00

Democracy Rising Pennsylvania

Lawmakers' Spin Machines Working Overtime

One of the more cynical displays of dishonesty following passage of the state budget is the claim by most – though not all – lawmakers that they cut their own budgets. Nothing could be further from the truth. They passed a budget that uses gimmicks to look like a cut, when in fact the overall enacted budget for the General Assembly increases 6.1% from last year's enacted budget.

The hypocrisy is palpable. At the same time the House increased its budget by 7.8% and the Senate by 3.4%, they passed a referendum requirement for school districts who need to increase their budgets by as little as 1% or less. Where is the requirement for a referendum on the General Assembly's budget? Or the state budget, which spends far more than all school districts combined?

At the same time Gov. Tom Corbett, Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis and lawmakers excoriate public employees for not freezing their pay (even though many did and many others took cuts in their contracted increases), Corbett, Tomalis and every lawmaker took no cuts and will get a pay raise this year because this budget refuses to repeal their automatic COLA.

At the same time that our highest public officials beat the drum of local governments living within their means, the legislature exceeded its 2010-11 budget by $16,478,000.

There will be substantial push-back for telling this truth, so here is how we arrived the House and Senate increases.

In August of last year, former Gov. Ed Rendell cut $212 million from the 2010-11 state budget. See the attached document. The legislature's budget begins on page 12.

These cuts reduced the budget for the House to $180,094,000. The House budget just enacted provides $179,486,000. While that looks like at cut, it doesn't disclose that the House transferred $13,966,000 from its budget to the Legislative Data Processing Center. Comparing apples to apples and putting that money back into the House budget for 2011-12, the House budget increases from $179,486,000 to $193,482,000, or 7.8%.

The alternative way to compare apples is to take the LDPC money out of last year's House budget and compare it to the new House budget. In that case, the increase is 8.1%.

The Senate's 2010-11 budget as enacted and cut by Rendell was $90,208,000. The 2011-12 budget just enacted appropriates $93,298,000 to the Senate. That's an increase of 3.4%.

Lawmakers dispute these figures because they were told the House had $194,581,000, and the Senate had $93,682,000 "available" to send in 2010-11. While they may have spent that much, those are not the budgets that were enacted and appropriated last year.

Where did the extra spending come from? There are two possible sources. One possibility is that the legislature appropriated more money to itself later in the year.

The other possibility, which is more likely, is that they used some of their $188.5 million surplus when the most expensive and staff-heavy full-time legislature in America couldn't live within its already inflated means.

Either way, the effect of the increased, beyond-budget spending is to make it appear that lawmakers cut their budget when they did not. What's worse, there's nothing to stop them from reaching into those reserves and exceeding their already inflated budgets during the new fiscal year. Once again, lawmakers who claim to feel the people's pain are speaking out of both sides of their well-paid mouths and using tax dollars to do it.

Bottom line: Lawmakers cannot and will not exercise fiscal discipline for themselves as long as they have huge slush funds to let the good times roll and deceive constituents with claims of phony budget cuts.

The 4^th

Take time this weekend to think about the promise of the American Revolution and the performance we have come to permit. We can have a better government, even the best government in America, but we won't get it without making honesty and integrity our top priority in every election.

Please support our work with a tax-deductible contribution. They hate it when you do that (some of them anyway).
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Portion of legislative surplus earmarked - News - Citizens Voice

2011-07-01T11:23:00.001-04:00

http://citizensvoice.com/news/portion-of-legislative-surplus-earmarked-1.1168981#axzz1QrqBao9r

Portion of legislative surplus earmarked

By Robert Swift (Harrisburg Bureau Chief)

Published: June 30, 2011

HARRISBURG - The General Assembly has met Gov. Tom Corbett part way on his call to cap the legislative surplus at 25 percent of their own operating budget.

The final state budget earmarks $50 million from that surplus and $50 million from the executive branch to partially restore funding for accountability block grants for public schools, said House Appropriations Chairman Bill Adolph, R-Springfield, Wednesday.

That would still leave $138 million in a legislative surplus which is now at $188 million, according to the most recent audit report. This is well above the threshold sought by the governor when he took office.

The House and Senate will receive a total $272 million in fiscal 2011-12. But what appears as a $16 million spending cut from current levels actually involves a reshuffling of spending on computer operations from the two chambers to a legislative service agency.

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Promotes Local Land Conservation

2011-06-30T15:46:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
June 30, 2011

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Promotes Local Land Conservation

Local groups lend support to legislation to extend tax incentives for conservation easements

DOYLESTOWN, Pa.—Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick today joined Jeff Marshall, Chief Preservation Officer of the Heritage Conservancy, Jim Vaseleck, President of the Tinicum Conservancy, and Eve Marschark, President of the Bedminster Regional Land Conservancy to promote H.R. 1964, the Conservation Incentive Easement Act of 2011. The legislation would permanently extend tax incentives for landowners who surrender land development rights for conservation purposes. The current tax incentive is set to expire at the end of 2011.

"This legislation allows us to preserve our rich Bucks County heritage," said Fitzpatrick, an original co-sponsor of the bill. "Through extending this tax credit, local landowners can help preserve this heritage. By donating a conservation easement farmers can maintain their livelihoods and productive use of their land while ensuring that it will not be developed in the future."

H.R. 1964, which currently has 259 co-sponsors, would allow landowners of modest incomes to deduct a larger portion of the value of the land over a period of 16 years in exchange for a permanent conservation easement on the land, making such conservation economically feasible for more landowners. The easement would not affect current productive uses such as farming.

"Land protection is a promise," said Jeff Marshall, Heritage Conservancy's Chief Preservation Officer. "This promise is from our generation to future generations. It is important that we help individuals protect and secure this blessing for ourselves and others."

###

Media Advisory from Congressman Fitzpatrick

2011-06-29T13:33:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
June 29, 2011

**MEDIA ADVISORY**

WHAT: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick will be joined by representatives from Heritage Conservancy, Bedminster Regional Land Conservancy and Tinicum Conservancy to promote H.R. 1964, legislation to extend land conservation tax credits.

WHO: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick; Jeffrey Marshall, Chief Preservation Officer of Heritage Conservancy; Jim Vaseleck, President of Tinicum Conservancy; and Eve Marschark President of Bedminster Regional Land Conservancy

WHEN: Thursday, June 30 at 1:30 PM

WHERE: Heritage Conservancy at Aldie Mansion, 85 Old Dublin Pike in Doylestown, Pennsylvania

###

Senate Republicans expected to unveil budget plan today

2011-06-27T16:42:00.001-04:00

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11178/1156484-454.stm

Senate Republicans expected to unveil budget plan today

Monday, June 27, 2011

By Laura Olson, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG -- Those waiting on details of the state budget agreement had to be patient Sunday, as lawmakers reshuffled their agenda for the rare weekend work day.

Plans to consider two key budget measures in a Senate panel were scuttled. Staffers said that was due to delays in drafting those bills, which will contain the program funding levels agreed to by top GOP lawmakers and the governor last week.

That change of schedule left Democratic lawmakers, who have not been included in budget talks, with time to reiterate their calls for a Marcellus Shale gas tax and for more money to higher education.

And to remind their Republican counterparts that four days are left before the budget deadline.

When a bill to create a state spending database came up at a committee meeting Sunday, Senate Appropriations Chairman Jake Corman noted that money was in the budget to pay for the initiative.

"Anything else in the budget we need to know about?" asked Sen. Vincent Hughes, the ranking Democrat on that panel.

"All in due time," replied Mr. Corman.

That wait may be over today, with the Senate expected to unveil details of the spending plan. The Senate could approve it by Tuesday, giving the House two days to send it to the governor's desk.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11178/1156484-454.stm#ixzz1QVkY38GP

Pension deficit a train wreck - phillyBurbs.com :

2011-06-26T10:19:00.000-04:00

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/the_intelligencer_news/opinion/letters_to_editor/pension-deficit-a-train-wreck/article_3a6bec21-e2a1-5a18-88db-3515f13974f8.html

Pension deficit a train wreck

Posted: Sunday, June 26, 2011 12:15 am | Updated: 3:50 pm, Fri Jun 24, 2011.

3 comments

Due to overspending in the Rendell administration, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Gov. Tom Corbett have been tasked with cutting spending to close the general operating budget deficit and to create a solution for Pennsylvania's underfunded public pension liabilities.

Both political parties played a part in this pension deficit train wreck, which is coming to your mailbox via state and school district tax increases from 2011 through 2029 and possibly beyond. Rendell came into office with these pensions funded at 100 percent, but left office eight years later with them funded at 20 percent. The former governor took the difference and spent it on taking care of his political friends.

The Intel runs stories on an almost daily basis criticizing Gov. Corbett for proposed budget cuts but never a word on the tax facts. In the next year and going forward, the "average" homeowner in Pennsylvania can expect to pay around $1,500 more in state and school district taxes. Check the Commonwealth Foundation website (www.commonwealthfoundation.org/research/detail/pennsylvania-state-pension-liabilities) to chart estimated tax assessment growth through 2029.

Facts are stubborn things, and these shocking facts have gone unreported.

Paul M. Fanelli

Bedminster Township

House Adopts Fitzpatrick Measure to Assist Veterans

2011-06-13T17:35:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
June 13, 2011

House Adopts Fitzpatrick Measure to Assist Veterans

Amendment would extend federal contracting preferences to veteran-owned firms

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States House of Representatives today adopted a measure sponsored by Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick that would ensure a level playing field for veteran-owned small businesses bidding on federal contracts.

"Veterans have served our nation honorably across the world," said Fitzpatrick. "After they return home, their experience and expertise can help lead our nation's economic recovery. The talents of our service men and women are invaluable to our nation both on and off the battlefield. We must be ever mindful of the sacrifices they have made and give them all the tools necessary to compete and thrive in civilian life."

According to the United States Census Bureau, over 2.4 million of our nation's veterans are now small business owners. Veteran owned businesses now constitute 9% of all U.S. firms and the Small Business Administration now estimates that one in seven veterans are either self-employed or small business owners. Despite the growing number of veteran entrepreneurs, unemployment rates among young veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan remains stubbornly high, reaching 21.9% last year.

Fitzpatrick's amendment, which was adopted with bi-partisan support on a voice vote, was added to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Act. The amendment would require veterans be afforded the same contracting preferences extended to other groups for projects funded under this legislation. On April 7, 2011, Fitzpatrick introduced the Fairness to Veterans Act which would extend the veterans preference to all federally funded contracts.

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Export of shale gas angers Western Pennsylvania landowners - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

2011-06-13T10:29:00.001-04:00

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_741828.html

Export of shale gas angers Western Pennsylvania landowners

By Timothy Puko
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 13, 2011
Last updated: 6:22 am

Natural gas pipeline companies have been Dorothy Ganiear's neighbor in Greene County for as long as she can remember.

Pipelines from two companies poke out from the ground in twisting interchanges just over a grassy hillside from her family's 100-acre farm, but noise or accidents never have been a problem, Ganiear said.

So when Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. offered her money this year to allow the company to run another pipeline under a corner of her Morgan Township property, Ganiear, 61, was happy to help. This is what we all have to live with in order to get the natural gas we need to heat our homes, she said.

What she does not want to live with is a pipeline that would help take gas to a port for export overseas.

"I want this gas to stay in America," she said. "I'm all for America first."

In towns across largely rural Greene County and elsewhere in southcentral Pennsylvania that are crucial hubs for transporting the nation's natural gas, most people express similar sentiment: They consider pipeline companies good neighbors, but that could change if they become mass exporters. There's a prevalent, often emotional, opposition to taking any gas produced from the Marcellus shale formation and selling it abroad.

School pension system facing dire situation | PA Independent

2011-06-11T09:58:00.001-04:00

http://paindependent.com/2011/06/school-pension-system-facing-dire-situation/

School pension system facing dire situation

Three decades of higher contributions needed

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent

HARRISBURG — Even if investment markets perform better than ever in history for the next five consecutive years, Pennsylvania taxpayers can expect to pay billions in pension liabilities for retired public school teachers, according to the chief financial officer at the state’s largest public pension system.

The Public School Employees Retirement System, or PSERS, has an official $30 billion unfunded liability that will require steep increases in taxpayer contributions over the next three decades to pay down, after more than 10 years of under funding the system. But it will take several decades of high contributions and good investment returns to eliminate the unfunded liability.

Brian Carl, PSERS chief financial officer, delivered the sobering information to the board at its monthly meeting Friday. He said investments alone could not cover the liabilities at this point, even in a year with good returns.

“Because we’re so far under what we should be contributing, the outperformance doesn’t really help us,” Carl said. “It helps, but it’s not going to eliminate the need for future contributions.”

In pension systems, the unfunded liability is the total cost of all earned benefits. Since they are earned, the liability is essentially debt that must be paid off. It does not include future benefits which members of the system continue to earn.

How bad is it? Over the past two decades, the state incrementally reduced the employer contribution — the part of the pension system funded directly by tax dollars — from its high of 20 percent in 1986. A 2002 law set the employer contribution at 1.15 percent of payroll for a period of 10 years, during which time two economic downturns wreaked havoc on the pension plans’ investments.

While the contributions were being lowered and investments failed, the liabilities continued to increase.

Starting this year, the direct taxpayer contribution portion will shoot up over the next decade from 5.64 percent to 25 percent. In actual numbers, the state expects to increase contributions to PSERS from $761 million this year to more than $5 billion annually by 2020 and $7 billion annually by 2030.

Virtually all of Pennsylvania teachers, principals rated satisfactory, but state education secretary says that doesn't square with student test scores | PennLive.com

2011-06-09T10:37:00.001-04:00

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/06/all_but_1_percent_of_pennsylva.html

Virtually all of Pennsylvania teachers, principals rated satisfactory, but state education secretary says that doesn't square with student test scores

Published: Wednesday, June 08, 2011, 1:07 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 08, 2011, 6:23 PM

By JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News
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The state Department of Education released data today that shows 96.8 percent of teachers and 93.8 percent of principals evaluated in 2009-10 received satisfactory ratings, but state Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis says this raises a concern about the evaluation system used to rate them.

CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News Most teachers and principals in Pennsylvania received a state 'satisfactory' reading, but officials say that means there's something wrong with the rating system.

“It is very difficult for me to rationalize how our state can have virtually 100 percent of educators evaluated as satisfactory when, based on the statewide assessment, one-in-four students are scoring below proficient in reading, and one-in-three are scoring below proficient in math," Tomalis said.

"What’s more disturbing, based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), more than half of our fourth- and eighth-grade students are scoring below proficient in math and reading. I believe these results are a clear indication that our current evaluation system is in major need of change,” he added.

The release of this information coincided with a Senate Education Committee hearing on the state's teacher evaluation system. A proposal, sponsored by Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin County, calls for including student performance as a factor in the evaluation system.

Media Advisory from Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick

2011-06-06T13:52:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
June 6, 2011

MEDIA ADVISORY

What: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick will join the President of Havis, Inc., Mike Bernert and Havis employees to discuss legislation to support small business growth and job creation.

When: June 6, 2011 at 4:30 PM

Where: Havis, Inc., 75 Jacksonville Road, Warminster, PA

Havis, Inc., headquartered in Warminster, PA is the leading manufacturer of emergency vehicle consoles, computer mounts, prisoner transport systems, K-9 transports and emergency scene lighting.

###

Taxing power could also be trimmed for Pa. schools - Lebanon Daily News

2011-06-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_18211417

Taxing power could also be trimmed for Pa. schools

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press

Updated: 06/05/2011 12:08:03 PM EDT

HARRISBURG, Pa.—Five years ago, the Pennsylvania Legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell struck a deal to give voters the right to veto or approve school property tax increases above the rate of inflation.

Few of those referendums have actually been held, but Rendell's successor and some state lawmakers want to give it another try by repealing the 10 exceptions that school districts have used to avoid the votes.

Various proposals are floating around the Legislature, and Republican Gov. Tom Corbett is a strong proponent.

Corbett's education secretary, Ron Tomalis, has little sympathy for those who worry about the effect of restricting school boards' financial flexibility at a time when state education support for K-12 education is likely to drop dramatically.

"I'm not surprised some folks are saying the timing is bad, but those are folks who would say the timing is bad regardless of the amount of money that is flowing into the system," Tomalis said late last week.

Corbett wants to link removal of the exceptions to passage of the 2011-12 state budget, which is due June 30.

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006, as it was called, included the tax increase referendum as part of a wider bill that applied slot machine gambling revenue to reduce school property and local wage taxes.

Each year the Education Department calculates a statewide "education index," generally slightly above the prior year's rate of inflation, with poorer districts qualifying for an even higher rate. If a school board wants to increase taxes above their number, they have to get voter approval, but there have only been 14 such votes in the past five years—in a state with 500 school districts. Thirteen times they were rejected, and in five of the votes more than 80 percent were "no" ballots.

Is Pennsylvania next union target? | PennLive.com

2011-06-02T11:03:00.001-04:00

http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/06/is_pennsylvania_next_union_tar.html

Is Pennsylvania next union target?

Published: Thursday, June 02, 2011, 5:30 AM

By Patriot-News Op-Ed

By Jerry Shenk

Governments have commonly raised taxes to cover increasing costs. But in most large governments, tax increases are often an indication of mismanagement, of government taking on never-envisioned responsibilities or both. In a tight economy, budgetary problems demand that legislators and government executives change their attitudes about governance and taxpayers.

A large crowd of union workers, health care employees, teachers and non-profit organization representatives, who form the Coalition for Labor Engagement and Accountable Revenues, rally on the front steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol to protest Gov. Tom Corbett's budget cuts.
05/03/2011 DAN GLEITER, The Patriot-News

Influential groups have lined up on opposite sides of the budget and tax debate, among them grassroots organizations and public sector unions. Only the unions openly encourage tax increases. Inspired by a commitment to limited government, tea party activists and the sizable bloc of voters who support them want to avoid deficits, reduce debt, cut spending, control taxes, reinvigorate the economy and limit government intrusion.

For the last half-century, public sector unions have benefited from growth trends in government that have produced deficits, debt and out-of-control spending that motivate grassroots sympathizers. The unions want to preserve the status quo.

The debate is over how many jobs should be dependent upon government and how public jobs should be compensated. Public sector jobs increased during good and bad economic times at rates far in excess of private sector employment, compensation and benefits. Keeping public sector jobs and benefits in this economic climate is a difficult sell to overburdened taxpayers who see the jobs they fund paying more and offering better benefits than most taxpayers receive.

Public sector unions argue that, generally, only lower-level workers earn more than private sector counterparts. Higher-level public employees, they say, are often better educated, but are compensated less. It’s not persuasive.

Public school kids are cynically used as “poster children” for the union cause. Teachers unions began organizing in the 1960s with little opposition. The teaching profession, overall, was respected. But teachers unions adopted the industrial model. Through decades of agitation, walkouts and union coercion, public goodwill was lost.

For decades, teachers unions have accused taxpayers of cheating the children for objecting to ever-increasing teacher pay and benefits. Unions have played the same card so often that it’s no longer trump. In fact, through 50 years, the number of teachers in American public schools has increased by a rate three-and-a-half times that of the student population while average academic achievement has declined. Taxpayers are paying a premium for poor results.

Pa. Education - A State of Emergency | COMMENTARY by Jay Ostrich

2011-06-01T18:36:00.000-04:00

Pa. Education - A State of Emergency | COMMENTARY by Jay Ostrich

Pa. Education - A State of Emergency

Jay Ostrich

At the start of our nation, founding father John Adams was as concerned with the positive development of our offspring as he was with that of the republic. Seeing the relationship as symbiotic, he considered it imperative that citizens challenge our children and, "excite them in a habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives."

If correct, I wonder what he would think of the meanness, injustice and inhumanity produced today at our 144 most failing public schools in Pennsylvania. Hyperbole? Hardly. In the last year alone, these schools produced staggering statistics that make our state's education system more like a state emergency.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, not one of these 144 schools scored more than 53 percent proficient in reading and math. University City High School, just three blocks from Ivy League great UPenn, now in its eighth year of corrective action under the state's federally mandated Annual Yearly Progress program, scored worst in the state with less than five percent. No Child Left Behind? Try more than 95 percent of children left behind.

But that doesn't mean children weren't learning to divide or subtract. In the 2009 school year alone, students trapped at these schools endured seven rapes, 1,983 assaults on students, 1,027 assaults on staff, 121 indecent or aggravated assaults, 554 illegal weapon possessions, 548 acts of vandalism, 31 terrorist threats, 26 bomb threats, 593 thefts, 107 acts of arson, 163 robberies, 171 acts of criminal trespassing, 20 burglaries, 38 cases of reckless endangering, four interferences of child custody, 30 indecent exposures, four sexual assaults, one involuntary sex violation and two official riots.

Have we become so unaffected or apathetic to the plight of endangered children trapped not by their ability or desire but through the digits in a zip code that our failure to act enables the status quo? The quagmire over school choice legislation seems to suggest so.

Presently, state legislators continue to debate the merits of combining vouchers with expanded opportunity scholarships like those in Senate Bill 1, designed to allow parents the ability to remove their children from failing and often violent schools and place them into an school of their choosing. Meanwhile, our children watch, wait and wonder whether an educational lifeline will ever be thrown their way.

Opponents of the bill have challenged it as anything from an unconstitutional entitlement to an unconscionable attack against teachers. While some cling to the notion we will magically lift these schools from the ashes to reach 100 percent proficiency with more time, others hold true to the notion more money is needed to combat the problem.

Both arguments—more time, more money—have proven ineffective. Since 1996 when Pennsylvania spent $13 billion on education, the state has now more than doubled its spending to $26 billion, yet proficiency has stagnated.

So if we have given more than a generation of children, doubled the money we spent and failed to improve our performance while children suffer at violent schools, many argue the status quo is no longer acceptable.

While not a panacea, school choice has proven a worthy alternative. Nearly every empirically-based study shows that school choice programs increase academic achievement for students and improve public schools through competition. No study has ever shown harmful effects to either scholarship recipients or public schools.

What remains indisputable are the harmful effects caused by the more than 5,400 incidents of violence reported in just our bottom five percent of schools alone. Instead of setting these children up for prosperity, many will be condemned to a life of poverty or the penitentiary.

To reverse this violent trend, the mantra of mediocrity—more time, more money—that produces violent schools on eight years of corrections but still 95 percent failure must be silenced. If not, the hopes our children will not have to grovel all their lives certainly will be.

# # #

Jay Ostrich is director of public affairs for the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania's independent think tank committed to the principles of the American founding: limited constitutional government, personal and economic freedom, and individual responsibility at www.commonwealthfoundation.org.

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Fitzpatrick Opposes “Blank Check” on Debt Ceiling Vote

2011-05-31T16:25:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
May 31, 2011

Fitzpatrick Opposes "Blank Check" on Debt Ceiling Vote

Calls on the President to cut up national credit card before asking Americans to pay the bills

RICHBORO, Pa—Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, after an event at Richboro Middle School, announced his opposition to today's scheduled vote to increase the federal debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion to a total of $16.7 trillion. Earlier this month, on May 16, the federal government reached its statutory debt ceiling, although the Treasury has indicated it can extend its borrowing authority into early August. Secretary Geitner has asked for a clean up or down vote on an increase to the debt limit.

"We cannot continue to pass along a staggering national debt to our children and grandchildren," said Fitzpatrick. "For too long Washington has been making only the minimum monthly payments on the national credit cards. If the President and the Democrats want the American people to pay its bills, they must cut up the national credit card first."

Currently the national debt stands at over $14.2 trillion, almost more than the entire U.S. economy, meaning that each and every child born today in the United States owes a $45,500 share of the national debt.

"Washington does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem," added Fitzpatrick. "If we want to maintain our nation's creditworthiness it is paramount that we put our fiscal house in order, not simply increase our credit limit."

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Commentary: Taxpayer Protection Pledge is controlling Pennsylvania government | PennLive.com

2011-05-31T13:51:00.001-04:00

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/05/commentary_taxpayer_protection.html

Commentary: Taxpayer Protection Pledge is controlling Pennsylvania government

Published: Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 10:05 AM Updated: Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 10:14 AM

By Laura Vecsey

Anyone who voted for Tom Corbett and any of the 34 state Republican lawmakers who signed Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge. This pledge may be a one-page document, but it has turned into the weapon of mass deconstruction of the federal and states’ governments.

Written in 1986 by Norquist for use by his Washington Beltway-based firm, Americans for Tax Reform, the pledge has been signed by more than 1,000 lawmakers across the land, including Corbett and the gang of 34 here in Harrisburg. They have vowed to oppose any and all efforts to increase taxes and support tax breaks.

In an era when campaign finance laws have been swept open to corporate contributors by the Citizens United ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, Norquist’s role has been under the radar.

That is changing, especially as Pennsylvania starts to reveal legislative and budget-making processes defined by Norquist’s demand. The 54-year-old Harvard-educated economist continues to be defined by his famous desire to “shrink government to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”

Spending per pupil reached $12,512 in '08 - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

2011-05-27T14:08:00.001-04:00

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_739147.html

Spending per pupil reached $12,512 in '08

By Jodi Weigand
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 27, 2011

The amount of money Pennsylvania school districts spent per student -- $12,512 -- was 11th-highest in the nation in 2008-09, according to recently released Census data.

The state's basic education subsidy to districts ranked 21st in the country that year. Spending increased each of the next two years, but Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget reduces the state's obligation in 2011-12 by $1 billion, to 2008-09 levels.

"Increased funding does not guarantee higher student achievement," Tim Eller, spokesman for the state Department of Education, said in an e-mail. "The greatest influences on student achievement are parents, effective teachers and quality school leaders."

Before 2008-09, the size of the state's education subsidy hovered around No. 30 in the country, though spending increased marginally each year. The big jump came after the implementation of a formula that gave more money to the neediest districts.

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Inspects Detention Operations at Guantanamo Bay

2011-05-21T12:18:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
May 21, 2011

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Inspects Joint Task Force Guantanamo Detention Operations

There are currently over 170 detained as unlawful combatants at facility

NAVAL STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY—Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick yesterday participated in an inspection of the detention operations, living conditions and medical facilities at Joint Task Force Guantanamo (GTMO) in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There are approximately 170 unlawful combatants currently held at GTMO, including terrorist trainers, terrorist financiers, bomb makers, terrorist recruiters and former Bin Laden bodyguards. The unprivileged enemy belligerents have been captured by the United States while fighting for al-Qaida or the Taliban, neither of which abide by the laws of war.

"The United States Department of Defense has proven its commitment to ensuring that all detainees are kept in a safe, secure and humane environment and that the terms of treatment are to provide a safe, humane, legal and transparent custody of the unlawful combatants," said Fitzpatrick following the conclusion of his inspection and interviews.

Fitzpatrick commented as well on the importance of the military installation in support of ongoing overseas operations against terrorism.

"JTF GTMO, through its military and government employees, provides an invaluable support to intelligence collection, law enforcement and war crimes investigations. These operations have recently assisted in the prevention of terrorist attacks, the apprehension of enemy combatants and the saving of American lives. The information provided by detainees has proven critical to our defense and security and will continue to be so as we defeat violent extremists that threaten to do us harm."

###

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick "Rides-Along" with Montco Second Alarmers

2011-05-18T18:09:00.001-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Contact: Darren Smith
May 18, 2011

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Participates in Ride-Along with Montgomery County Second Alarmers Association

Ride-Along coincides with national EMS week

WILLOW GROVE, Pa.—Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick today participated in a "ride-along" with members of the Montgomery County Second Alarmers Association and Rescue Squad based in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

"It is important to see firsthand what our first responder community experiences on a daily basis," said Fitzpatrick. "As elected officials it is crucial to the safety of our community to understand and support our local EMS community. I'm excited to have the opportunity to see their daily work."

Fitzpatrick recently introduced the Danny McIntosh Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection Act (H.R. 1668) to support the local EMS community. H.R. 1668 would extend Public Safety Officer Benefits to the families of volunteer emergency service personnel who die in the line of duty. Current federal law limits these benefits only to emergency service personnel employed by governmental units.

"Congressman Fitzpatrick has been a supporter of first responders and we're glad to have the opportunity to have him join us today," said Jamie Haddon, Executive Director of the Second Alarmers. "Support from our elected officials and legislation like the Danny McIntosh Act are critical to our work."

The Second Alarmers Association and Rescue Squad of Montgomery County has grown to become one of the largest private not-for-profit pre-hospital Emergency Medical Service providers in the region, responding to over 12,000 emergency 911 incidents each year. The Second Alarmers is a combination department composed of 100 volunteer and 123 career members, delivering service from five stations with 22 vehicles, including twelve advanced life support ambulances.

Attached is a photo of Congressman Fitzpatrick during today's ride-along.

###

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Commentary: Taxpayer Protection Pledge is controlling Pennsylvania government | PennLive.com

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Spending per pupil reached $12,512 in '08 - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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