March 26th, 2009

Reports the Philadelphia Bulletin:

State Rep. Curt Schroder, R-155th, of Chester County, has sponsored two pieces of legislation to control how the money the state has received through the federal stimulus will be spent.

The $787 billion economic stimulus measure President Barack Obama signed last month could give Pennsylvania an approximately $16-billion cut. Most of it will go to health-care subsidies, education programs, transportation, unemployment benefits, job training, housing and alternative energy.

As a governor who’s already overseen vast spending increases and who faces a $2.3 billion budget deficit, Ed Rendell, D, encouraged Mr. Obama to craft a generous spending package and enthusiastically accepted Pennsylvania’s portion of it.

But that money won’t be around after Mr. Rendell leaves office in 2011, and taxpayers will need to close the deficit if they don’t want drastic cuts in state services.

Mr. Schroder said the stimulus creates debt more than it creates relief for the state.

He has proposed having the General Assembly allow itself to reject the stimulus money in whole or in part and having the Legislature approve all stimulus-funded transportation projects before financing them.

Read more at the Bulletin.