State Sen. Charlie Dent(R-Lehigh, PA) stripped millions from State House appropriations bill .
WASHINGTON – The Pennsylvania State Senate set a shining example Tuesday, squashing over-spending in its Congressional budget. Senator Charlie Dent (R-Lehigh) championed the fight to keep expenditures down, stripping from the budget bill a 12 percent increase in House spending, and as a result, he is the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) October nominee for the Hero of the Taxpayer Award.
The award is given to those members of a state or federal office whose principles and actions keep in mind the American taxpayer, working to prevent any and all tax increases. Senator Dent and other appropriators stripped a 12 percent increase from the House budget bill, mindful of the already hefty burden taxpayers bear when they eliminated the $307 million allotted for new spending.
President of ATR Grover Norquist commented, "Charlie Dent should be congratulated for his efforts to keep government spending under control. He and his fellow senate appropriators have taken on the job of training a dog to walk on a leash; they pull and you pull back. Eventually, the dog understands that he\’s not supposed to pull and walks calmly on the other end. Maybe there\’s even some slack in the leash, if the House didn\’t overspend that year. It\’s a struggle learning self-control."
The questionable increase included a $4 million earmark for the ranking House leaders\’ Special Leadership Accounts, two $12.3 million accounts to be used as the party leaders see fit. "I think all of us have to keep our spending down," said Dent to Morning Call. "I can\’t defend or justify those expenditures."
"Senator Dent deserves to be recognized for his efforts to cut out unnecessary or frivolous spending," continued Norquist. "If more people would follow this example, government spending would look more like a lamb than a ram ready to gore the state\’s taxpayers when they\’re not looking."