Rendell Official Addresses PBPC Budget Summit on Federal Fiscal Relief

Commonwealth Secretary of Policy and Planning Donna Cooper shed some light on how Pennsylvania will invest more than $9.8 billion in federal economic recovery funds when she addressed the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center's Budget Summit on February 26.

Cooper noted that the Commonwealth will be able to direct less than $4 billion of that money, since more than $6 billion is already reserved for the stateís school districts, highway and bridge repairs, and to prevent cuts in health care. The federal funds will be driven out over the next 24 to 27 months.

Cooper explained that the state had four goals in driving out the more discretionary dollars:

1. Putting Pennsylvanians back to work;
2. Advancing Pennsylvania's place in the alternative energy sector;
3. Driving down the costs of health care; and
4. Accelerating education reform to boost the skills of students who need the most help.

"The money needs to change outcomes," Cooper said. "It's not more money to do the same."

Cooper said the Rendell administration would be innovative in its use of economic recovery dollars but was studying the federal regulations to be sure that the state complied with the law. Since this is one-time money, Cooper said, the state is also planning for how the additional funding will be phased out in two years.

The Rendell administration has asked state agencies to submit plans for specific projects by the end of March, Cooper said.

Cooper encouraged people to submit, in writing, ideas about how the state can use this funding most effectively and suggestions for specific projects. If you have ideas, the state has set up a web page to receive feedback from the public.

A CNN camera crew was with Cooper on February 26 as she fielded questions at the PBPC Budget Summit. The cable news network later aired a story about how Pennsylvania planned to invest the fiscal relief and the role Cooper was playing in that process.

Since Cooper's appearance at the Budget Summit, the state has unveiled a web site (http://www.recovery.pa.gov) tracking the use of the economic recovery money. As the federal money is spent, this web site will track outcomes to ensure it is meeting the state's goals of creating new jobs, building on vital sectors of the economy and improving educational outcomes.

Cooper said use of the federal fiscal relief will require legislative approval, with few exceptions, such as for certain funding that will go directly to school districts. Administration officials were examining whether a supplemental appropriations bill would be necessary for the current 2008-09 fiscal year for any federal funding that will be spent before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

Cooper also discussed how economic recovery funds would be used to put unemployed Pennsylvanians back to work. She said that a lack of job training providers was a challenge for the Commonwealth, but that to the extent that providers were available, federal dollars would be used to train Pennsylvanians for new jobs. She also said that the state would require companies bidding on projects to repair highways, bridges and other infrastructure to work through state channels to identify Pennsylvanians in need of jobs.

"Where you're expanding your workforce, we want that to be connected to the CareerLinks and the Welfare to Work programs," Cooper said.

According to the state, the more than $9.8 billion in formula-driven federal fiscal relief will go toward the following areas over the next 24 to 27 months:

• $4 billion for health care
• $2.56 billion for education
  
• $1.4 billion for transportation infrastructure
• $472 million for alternative energy
• $425 million for job training and unemployment services
• $361 million for other infrastructure and housing projects
• $347 million for state budget relief
• $120 million for crime fighting and victim services
• $116 million for targeted assistance to Pennsylvania families
• $82 million for child care and Head Start