House Democrats Help Identify More WAMs

PA House Democrat leader Todd Eachus and Appropriations Chair Dwight Evans sent a letter to Gov. Rendell decrying the inclusion of $12 million in WAMs in the latest Senate budget. WAMs refer to discretionary funds controlled by legislative leaders. What is interesting is that many of the items they identified were ones I would have never have guessed are WAMs, though it is very difficult to tell given the lack of spending transparency. Here are items they called into question:

  • Executive Offices – Safe Neighborhoods ($400,000)
  • Executive Offices – Violence Reduction ($250,000)
  • The discretionary grant component for other cultural support under the newly created Cultural Preservation Assistance appropriation ($1.703 million) within Executive Offices.
  • Department of Community and Economic Development – Minority Business Development ($1 million)
  • Department of Education – (Public) Higher Education Assistance ($400,000)
  • Department of Public Welfare – Facilities and Service Enhancements ($500,000)
  • Department of Public Welfare – Acute Care Hospitals ($4.7 million)
  • Department of Public Welfare – Health Care Clinics ($3 million)

Of course the new Senate budget (Download file line items here) funds several programs we previously identified as corporate welfare, mostly discretionary grant programs (albeit controlled by the administration) in the Department of Community and Economic Development. These include:

  • World Trade PA – $7.5 million in new budget
  • Marketing to Attract Tourists – $6.2 million
  • Marketing to Attract Business – $0.9 million
  • Business Retention and Expansion – $1 million
  • Opportunity Grant Program – $18.3 million
  • Customized Job Training – $9 million
  • Infrastructure Development – $15 million
  • Housing and Redevelopment Assistance – $20 million
  • Accessible Housing – $1.1 million
  • New Communities – $11.3 million
  • Industrial Development Assistance – $1.6 million
  • Local Development Districts – $3.3 million
  • Small Business Development Centers – $4 million
  • Tourist Promotion Assistance – $8 million
  • Tourism Accredited Zoos – $1.2 million
  • Infrastructure Technical Assistance – $1.2 million
  • Industrial Resource Center – $7.7 million
  • Infrastructure & Facilities Improvement Grants – $28 million

Add this list with the House Democrats, and there is $158 million in easy budget cuts.