As Majority Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, charged

with developing alternatives to Governor Wolfs record-level tax increase

proposals to address Pennsylvanias historic financial imbalance, I have been
mandated to a level of professional commitment in Harrisburg far beyond my
past service and more than a typical Senate members schedule, Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Pat Browne said. Pennsylvania state
government is facing unprecedented financial challenges. To address these
challenges, a professional commitment by those primarily charged to provide
oversight and develop solutions must also be at unprecedented levels.
It has required me to engage with these officials face-to-face multiple times
a week, including often daily engagement through the ninemonth, 20152016 budget impasse. It has also required me to spend long hours, day and
night, reviewing executive department proposals, preparing for and
conducting oversight hearings, negotiating with executive and legislative
officials and developing alternative budget proposals.
In the end, through this commitment, the Commonwealth has enacted two
years of balanced budgets with new record investments in education without
any of Governor Wolfs broad-based tax increases and despite record
deficits. As would be the case for any CFO with a private sector company
with financial challenges, a commitment to meeting a typical 70-day-a-year
Senate session schedule in the state capitol would not be sufficient to address
our states financial challenges and produce such results.
Given the size and scale of the Commonwealths fiscal operations and
recognizing that the budget process is not a three month exercise following
the Governors budget address, but rather a 12 month exchange, I have
established a new process of dialogue with Administration officials and
department heads throughout the year as they work on preparing their
budgets to present to the Governor for his budget address.
These current fiscal challenges require a greater emphasis on administrative
and program spending and performance outcomes to ensure fiscal
accountability to Pennsylvania citizens. That is why, since becoming

Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have increased the

committees review of all agencies and departments spending lines in
collaboration with the Independent Fiscal office (IFO) through program
performance measures as well as created a subcommittee structure within the
Senate Appropriations committee. These subcommittees examine programs,
operations and efficiency measures of a particular component of state
spending and make recommendations to the full Appropriations Committee
on how to improve operations and efficiency.
This increased responsibility and professional commitment in Harrisburg to
Pennsylvanias most pressing challenge often three days every week, 15
hours a day has increased the level of out-of-pocket expenses that I have
incurred for lodging and meals as compared to past years. Advancing
responsible financial solutions to Pennsylvanias most difficult challenge
which will protect taxpayers and fulfill the Commonwealths core obligations
can only be achieved by making this level of commitment.