FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2003
Contact:  Erin K. Kelly
(717) 846-2828
ekelly@pasen.gov
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Waugh Applauds Governor's Budget

Budget includes a Line Item for a $25 Million Grant for Fire and Emergency Services

Harrisburg – State Senator Mike Waugh (R-York) applauded the 2003-2004 balanced budget that Governor Ed Rendell unveiled on Tuesday in a joint address to the General Assembly.

In his remarks, the Governor called the budget “lean” and he said, “We must force government to live within its means.” Waugh agrees.

“When Pennsylvania’s families fall on tough economic times, they take a hard look at how they spend their money, and they adjust their lifestyles to better suit their wallets. This budget is an example of the Commonwealth doing the same,” said Waugh.

Waugh explained that cutting state spending is a reasonable and necessary approach to keeping the state’s checkbook balanced without cutting core governmental functions or necessitating a tax increase.

Many states in the northeast are facing even more difficult challenges then Pennsylvania. Ohio must address a $4 billion shortfall, New Jersey faces a $5 billion shortfall, and New York must fill a $9.3 billion budget gap. Each state is looking at a variety of ways to remedy their problems, including expanded gambling, tapping into tobacco settlement money, and raising taxes.

“If we can hold the line on spending in a tough year like this one, we can put Pennsylvania in a better economic position than many of our neighbor-states in the years that come,” said Waugh.

But, Waugh also congratulated the Governor for recognizing the invaluable services provided by the Commonwealth’s volunteer firefighters and emergency service providers. The budget includes a line-item for a $25 million grant program.

Waugh, a co-chairman of the Senate Firefighter and Emergency Services Caucus, has worked for a number of years to reform and reinstate a grant program for volunteers.

“We had a one-time grant program in 2000 that provided some short term relief for some very real, long-term problems,” said Waugh. He hopes that the line item is the beginning of an institutionalized, “needs-based” program.

Waugh also referenced a 2002 report from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the State Fire Commissioner that identified a number of long-term problems within the volunteer services.

“We have a solid blue-print for change with the PEMA report. Whether it is recruiting and retention, training, equipment, or facilities, it’s clear that these are problems that cannot be fixed with another one-time grant,” said Waugh. “It’s time we took a hard look at these issues and put some realistic solutions into action.”

When asked whether the state could afford to spend $25 million in grants with the state’s current economic situation, Waugh responded, “The 70,000 volunteers in Pennsylvania save the people of this Commonwealth billions of dollars and save hundreds of lives every year - we simply cannot afford not to. Emergency services is in my opinion a vital, basic function of our government.”