Schemel appointed to PennSAVE

HARRISBURG — Under the direction of Chairman Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin), the House Majority Policy Committee has launched PennSAVE, an initiative to find ways to save taxpayer dollars by cutting government waste and inefficiencies. Rep. Paul Schemel (R-Franklin) was among the lawmakers appointed by the committee to spearhead the effort.“

Before taxpayers are asked to take a pay cut in order to send more money to Harrisburg, state government first needs to be accountable to taxpayers by ensuring it has explored every practical option for reducing costs,” Benninghoff said. “In a $30.3 billion budget, there are plenty of opportunities to find efficiencies and improve how government works.”

The initiative will be run by a special subcommittee of the House Majority Policy Committee. The group will be researching several potential cost-saving measures across state government including possible state agency and program consolidation; unaddressed audit findings; government procurement policies and “corporate welfare”; as well as overall waste, fraud and system abuse.

“This initiative will save money and help restore public confidence in their state government,” said Schemel.

Schemel is encouraging residents of the 90th Legislative District to participate in the initiative by submitting ideas and strategies for how to make government more efficient. They can do so by visiting www.RepSchemel.com and selecting the “PennSAVE” banner. The initiative will also include coordination with other state House and Senate committees, as well as the governor’s office and its executive agencies, in order to solicit suggestions.

“Pennsylvanians know there are cost-savings to be found, and we hope they will join us in our cause,” Benninghoff said. “We need to hit the reset button and start the state budget process over — this time, in the best interest of taxpayers.”