For Immediate Release
April 3, 2009
Contact: Nathan Flood
717-787-4420
Back

OP-ED: Pennsylvania Stimulus Oversight Has Room For Improvement

By Senator Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster and Chester Counties)

In February, I introduced legislation that would create the Pennsylvania Commission on Stimulus Accountability to ensure transparency, accountability and oversight for all funding the state receives as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In addition to monitoring all stimulus spending and programs, Senate Bill 6 would require stringent reporting standards for all state agencies to determine exactly how stimulus dollars are being spent. The commission would also be tasked with establishing a website accessible to the public with a searchable database of all stimulus projects, giving all citizens easy access to information about where and how their tax dollars are being spent. 

Last week, the governor responded by signing an Executive Order creating the Pennsylvania Stimulus Oversight Commission to monitor all stimulus dollars received in the Commonwealth. The governor’s oversight commission mirrors my proposal in a number of ways, and I commend the governor for putting some sort of mechanism in place to monitor this funding.  

However, there are notable differences between my plan and the governor’s. While the governor’s commission is similar to my proposal in many ways, his panel still lacks the transparency and strict reporting requirements for state agencies included in Senate Bill 6. These measures are vital to building and maintaining the public’s trust in our ability to administer this additional funding, and I believe it is a serious error to dismiss the importance of these provisions. 

If we are going to distribute billions of additional taxpayer dollars through the stimulus program to benefit all Pennsylvanians, we must have complete confidence that each dollar will be used for its intended purpose. I am certain that the Administration shares my view that we cannot afford to see any of this funding wasted, but I am not confident that the governor’s oversight measures are thorough enough to identify and prevent waste, fraud and mismanagement. I know that we can do more, and we can do better. 

Pennsylvanians should accept nothing less than the most comprehensive stimulus oversight in the country, and citizens should have no doubt in the ability of state government to allocate this funding responsibly and effectively. Distributing stimulus dollars efficiently and effectively should not be a partisan issue, and 48 out of 50 members of the Senate demonstrated broad, bipartisan support for my oversight measures by signing on to cosponsor my legislation. I am hopeful that the governor and my colleagues in the General Assembly will join me in supporting the strong and necessary oversight measures included in Senate Bill 6.