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		<title>Monthly Column</title>
		<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/Display/RSS.ashx?ID=106]]></link>
		<description>Here you will find Monthly Column</description>
		<language>en</language>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST</lastBuildDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[August 2010 Column - Legislature Expected to Consider Two Budget-Related Bills in September]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=9416]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[When legislative session resumes in September, two issues will be at the top of our agenda.  Both are related to state spending and the amount of revenue available for the state budget.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:24:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[July 2010 Column - Balanced, No Tax Increase Budget is a Reasonable Compromise]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=9303]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last year, Pennsylvania did not pass a budget until October, more than one hundred days after the start of the fiscal year.  As a direct result of the failure to meet the legally mandated budget deadline, thousands of Pennsylvanians who rely on programs funded through the state budget were unable to get the services they need.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:55:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[June 2010 Column - Government Should Consider Costs and Benefits of Residential Sprinkler Mandate]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=9185]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Beginning on Jan. 1, 2011, all newly constructed homes in Pennsylvania will be required to have automatic sprinkler systems. While we can all agree with the goal of protecting lives and reducing the number of injuries resulting from residential fires, I am not convinced that this mandate is the best way to achieve that goal.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:21:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[May 2010 Column - Policy Committee to Consider Solutions to Pennsylvania’s Transportation Infrastructure Funding Crisis]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=8977]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last month, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) rejected Pennsylvania’s application to toll Interstate 80.  The decision creates a $470 million hole in Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure budget, and Gov. Ed Rendell has announced he will call a special session of the Legislature to address the situation.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 19:03:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[April 2010 Column - Pennsylvania’s Budget Problems Can Be Solved Without Tax Increases]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=8765]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[In March, the House passed a budget bill for the 2010-11 fiscal year.  That bill, House Bill 2279, is now being considered by the Senate.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:30:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[March 2010 - Public-Private Partnerships Could Help Solve Pennsylvania’s Infrastructure Problems]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=8448]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[As you are all aware, Pennsylvania and the nation are facing very difficult economic times.  Like most Pennsylvania families, state government must live within its means if it is going to make it through this recession without raising taxes.  As lawmakers, it is our responsibility to get the most value out of every taxpayer dollar we spend.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[February 2010 - Budget Process Cannot Become a Partisan Battle]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=8154]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[The 2009-10 fiscal year began on July 1, 2009.  Unfortunately, Pennsylvania did not have a budget for the fiscal year until October 2009.  That delay meant thousands of Pennsylvanians who rely on programs which are funded through the state budget were unable to get the services they need.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[January 2010 - Comprehensive Reforms Needed to Restore Pennsylvanians’ Faith in State Government]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=7866]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[In recent years, there has been a great deal of talk from lawmakers in Harrisburg about this being a “new era of reform” in Pennsylvania.  Unfortunately, after the television cameras were turned off and the newspaper stories were written, those promises were, for the most part, never kept.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[December 2009 - Looming Pension Crisis Could Mean Massive Tax Hike for Pennsylvania Families]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3608]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[When the last fiscal year ended on June 30, Pennsylvania found itself with a budget deficit of more than $3 billion.  It is only December, and already the revenue projections for the current fiscal year are more than $217 million below estimates.  Unfortunately, our current economic troubles pale in comparison to the problems we will face in 2012-13 if something is not done to address the looming crisis in our public employee pension systems.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[November 2009 - House Republicans Offer Health Care Solution Without Mandates, Tax Increases from Washington]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3071]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Nearly everyone agrees that our nation’s health care system is in need of reforms that will increase access for the uninsured and reduce costs for everyone. But, there is a great deal of disagreement about how to get there. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[October 2009 - Pennsylvania's Welfare System is in Need of Serious Reform]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3070]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[After all of the posturing and political rhetoric has quieted, the recently concluded state budget impasse can be boiled down to a disagreement between two basic philosophies of government spending.  One holds that government spending can increase without regard to the revenue on hand and taxes can be raised to make up the difference.  The other philosophy holds that government must live within its means and all spending decisions should be based on the amount of money available, not on the assumption that taxes can be raised to generate the money we would like to spend. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[September 2009 - House Republican Budget is a Reasonable, No Tax Increase Compromise]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3069]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[When I began writing this monthly column in January, I did not expect to spend so much time discussing the state budget. As chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, I had intended to use the column to discuss the House Republican legislative agenda on a range of important issues including health care, education and energy. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[August 2009 - Rendell Continues Holding Pennsylvanians Hostage in an Effort to Increase Taxes]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3068]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Earlier this month, at the request of the governor, the House approved Senate Bill 850, the Senate’s budget plan for the new fiscal year. The governor asked that the bill be sent to him so that state workers, who have been working without pay for several weeks, could be paid. Unfortunately the governor signed the bill only after vetoing large parts of it.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[July 2009 - House GOP Balances Budget, Funds Essentials with No Tax Increase]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3067]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[On July 1, Pennsylvania began its seventh consecutive fiscal year without a budget in place. The Senate passed a budget plan in May. House Republicans have made numerous attempts to bring a spending plan to the House floor so that negotiations on a final budget plan can begin, but, House Democrats have refused to allow any budget debate to take place. Instead, they and Gov. Ed Rendell have spent a great deal of time distorting the facts about the Republican plan in an effort to scare Pennsylvanians into accepting a tax increase. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[June 2009 - Patients and Doctors Should Control Health Care]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3065]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Pennsylvania is facing a health care crisis. While 92 percent of our residents have health insurance, there are still too many people who are uninsured. The problem is made worse in this difficult economic time as more and more people are losing their jobs and, as a result, losing their health insurance.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[May 2009 - Senate Budget Reflects the Reality of Pennsylvania's Financial Situation]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3063]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 850, its state budget plan for fiscal year 2009-10.  The plan reflects the fact that Pennsylvania is facing a $3 billion budget shortfall and some very difficult decisions will have to be made if we are going to weather this crisis without new and increased taxes on Pennsylvania’s families and businesses. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[April 2009 - Governor Should Not Have a Free Hand in Spending Stimulus Funds]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3062]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Pennsylvania is set to receive billions of dollars in stimulus funds from the federal government as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This will be the largest influx of federal stimulus money in Pennsylvania history, and as lawmakers, we have an obligation to see that these funds are used responsibly and with the greatest possible economic benefit to the people of Pennsylvania.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[March 2009 - Despite New Direction, 'Keystone Exams' are Still Just Another Unfunded Mandate]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3061]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[On March 4th, 2009, the Rendell administration announced a new direction for an old proposal – mandating Graduation Competency Assessments on local school districts. These Graduation Competency Assessments (GCAs) are still being advocated in Pennsylvania, but it has been given a new name – “Keystone Exams.”]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[February 2009 - Despite His Tough Rhetoric, Rendell Offers a Typical Tax and Spend Budget]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3060]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[“We have $2.3 billion in red ink this year and there’s more to come next year. This is something no Band-Aid can fix.” (Gov. Ed Rendell, Wilkes Barre Times Leader, Jan. 29, 2009)
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			<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[January 2009 - House Republicans Committed to Solving Pennsylvania's Budget Crisis Without New Taxes]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.pagoppolicy.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=3059]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Pennsylvania is facing a serious budget crisis. Earlier this month, Gov. Ed Rendell predicted that the budget shortfall, which had been estimated at $1.6 billion, is likely to be $100 million deeper. Others are predicting that the shortfall could be more than $2 billion.
]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:00:00 EST</pubDate>
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