Corman Defends Colleague
By SEN. JAKE CORMAN
R-Bellefonte
I read with interest a recent article in (The Bradford Era) where Congressman John Peterson attacked Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati because he endorsed Kerry Gern for the state House. In attacking Sen. Scarnati during a press conference, Peterson said he "would urge the Senator to run the Senate and run it well."
Let me tell you - he has.
From the minute Sen. Scarnati took the oath of office as our state's President Pro Tempore, he has worked to restore faith in our legislature, made the Senate more open to the people we represent and accountable to our citizens.
He has instituted the following:
* All roll call votes are posted on the Internet no later than 24 hours after a vote and committee votes on bills are posted within 48 hours of the vote. This allows citizens to read the bills that are being voted on, and see how senators are voting.
* To give the public insight on why certain votes were cast, the Senate's Legislative Journal - which includes the full text of all floor debates - are posted on the Internet upon Senate approval of the Journal or within 45 days, whichever is earlier.
* To prevent late-night votes, session is now limited to the hours between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.
* The Senate is now required to wait at least six hours before voting on an amended bill or a conference committee report, and amendments are posted to the Internet before being offered on the Senate floor. This allows legislators and the public time to understand changes in a bill before it comes up for vote.
* An updated fiscal note is now prepared if a bill is amended after consideration by the Senate Appropriations Committee and if the amendment is expected to have a financial impact.
Under Sen. Scarnati's watch, Pennsylvania approved strong lobbying disclosure regulations and passed for the first time in decades a strong open records bill.
All of these changes have benefited the public and all came during Sen. Scarnati's term as President Pro Tem.
None of these changes occurred when Congressman Peterson was in the state Senate.
Congressman Peterson, in his public press conference to attack Sen. Scarnati, also spoke about a "slush fund" that our leaders control. What absolute nonsense.
Yes, the Senate and the House do have surpluses in legislative accounts. But these funds are restricted to Senate and House operations and are used during times when the Governor and General Assembly disagree on a state budget past June 30th to pay the bills.
Let's not forget, we have separation of powers in our Commonwealth and country. And the Legislature has bills of its own to pay and uses these funds to do that.
Congressman Peterson himself was a beneficiary of the legislative account surplus, or "slush fund." In 1988, the governor vetoed a portion of the state budget, and Senate members and staff were paid out of legislative surplus accounts until a budget agreement was made.
Congressman Peterson, then Sen. Peterson, got paid during this late budget year. He got paid from legislative accounts, or the very same "slush fund" that he now attacks. Did we hear an outcry from him then when he got paid? No. He took his paycheck and went about his business.
I'd like to remind the Congressman that we live in a free society where individuals can support the candidate of his or her own choosing. We recently witnessed elections in Russia, where the ruling party made sure others were not on the ballot, essentially giving voters one choice. I'm proud of our system of free and open elections, and proud that we can support a candidate of our own choosing. I'm surprised and disappointed that Congressman Peterson doesn't see it this way and would personally attack someone of high character for exercising his own inalienable rights.
Thanks to PA Senate Republican Communications for passing this on to me.
R-Bellefonte
I read with interest a recent article in (The Bradford Era) where Congressman John Peterson attacked Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati because he endorsed Kerry Gern for the state House. In attacking Sen. Scarnati during a press conference, Peterson said he "would urge the Senator to run the Senate and run it well."
Let me tell you - he has.
From the minute Sen. Scarnati took the oath of office as our state's President Pro Tempore, he has worked to restore faith in our legislature, made the Senate more open to the people we represent and accountable to our citizens.
He has instituted the following:
* All roll call votes are posted on the Internet no later than 24 hours after a vote and committee votes on bills are posted within 48 hours of the vote. This allows citizens to read the bills that are being voted on, and see how senators are voting.
* To give the public insight on why certain votes were cast, the Senate's Legislative Journal - which includes the full text of all floor debates - are posted on the Internet upon Senate approval of the Journal or within 45 days, whichever is earlier.
* To prevent late-night votes, session is now limited to the hours between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.
* The Senate is now required to wait at least six hours before voting on an amended bill or a conference committee report, and amendments are posted to the Internet before being offered on the Senate floor. This allows legislators and the public time to understand changes in a bill before it comes up for vote.
* An updated fiscal note is now prepared if a bill is amended after consideration by the Senate Appropriations Committee and if the amendment is expected to have a financial impact.
Under Sen. Scarnati's watch, Pennsylvania approved strong lobbying disclosure regulations and passed for the first time in decades a strong open records bill.
All of these changes have benefited the public and all came during Sen. Scarnati's term as President Pro Tem.
None of these changes occurred when Congressman Peterson was in the state Senate.
Congressman Peterson, in his public press conference to attack Sen. Scarnati, also spoke about a "slush fund" that our leaders control. What absolute nonsense.
Yes, the Senate and the House do have surpluses in legislative accounts. But these funds are restricted to Senate and House operations and are used during times when the Governor and General Assembly disagree on a state budget past June 30th to pay the bills.
Let's not forget, we have separation of powers in our Commonwealth and country. And the Legislature has bills of its own to pay and uses these funds to do that.
Congressman Peterson himself was a beneficiary of the legislative account surplus, or "slush fund." In 1988, the governor vetoed a portion of the state budget, and Senate members and staff were paid out of legislative surplus accounts until a budget agreement was made.
Congressman Peterson, then Sen. Peterson, got paid during this late budget year. He got paid from legislative accounts, or the very same "slush fund" that he now attacks. Did we hear an outcry from him then when he got paid? No. He took his paycheck and went about his business.
I'd like to remind the Congressman that we live in a free society where individuals can support the candidate of his or her own choosing. We recently witnessed elections in Russia, where the ruling party made sure others were not on the ballot, essentially giving voters one choice. I'm proud of our system of free and open elections, and proud that we can support a candidate of our own choosing. I'm surprised and disappointed that Congressman Peterson doesn't see it this way and would personally attack someone of high character for exercising his own inalienable rights.
Thanks to PA Senate Republican Communications for passing this on to me.
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