**NEWS RELEASE**

Says Rejecting COLA Makes Big Headlines, Small Dent

Hollidaysburg, PA – Wednesday, December 03, 2008, Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr. called the announcement by some legislators to reject the cost of living allowance or COLA a “micro step” and urged the legislators to stop the needless spending on items for themselves and their staff, and on things designed to enhance their image with voters.

Eichelberger says that if legislators are really serious about reducing spending, they’ll follow his lead and implement some of the money-saving measures that he’s taken since starting in office two years ago. Including:
• Only taking mileage reimbursement for travel outside of the district
• Refusing the calendars that are printed and handed out or mailed to constituents
• Not doing Public Service Announcements
• Not taking reimbursement for meals
• Not taking a per diem payment
• Not mailing newsletters to constituents
• Not taking a tax payer financed car
• Having staff perform janitorial functions
• Not accepting taxpayer-funded beverages in any of his offices
• Paying for the official web site with private funds

“We estimate that the steps I’ve taken will save about $500,000 of taxpayer money over the course of my four-year term,” Eichelberger says. “If every legislator rejects the COLA, the taxpayers save about $2 million over four years. If every legislator would do the things that I’ve done, the taxpayers would save over $126 million over four years.”

“If you are going to do something, let’s do it right,” said Eichelberger. “We have a real opportunity to make the changes that the people of this great state expect. The question simply becomes, are we in the legislature, willing to make them?”

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For Immediate Release

Increases number of Town Halls District-wide in 2008

Monday, August, 25, 2008 Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr. will host his first Town Hall meeting in Mifflin County since taking office.

“I am eager to include the constituents of Menno Township in this year’s Town Hall schedule. As a state official, it is important for me to hear, first-hand, from the people of my district, listen to their concerns and answer any questions they may have,” John says.

John is increasing the number of Town Hall meetings district-wide this year to include Menno Township and will host two Town Halls each in Blair, Bedford, Fulton and Huntingdon counties.

WHO: State Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr.

WHAT: Town Hall Meeting

WHEN: Monday, August 25, 2008, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Allensville Community Hall,

Main Street, Allensville, PA 17002

I am going to Arizona tomorrow for a reunion and have tried to get caught up on work before I go. This has been tough for me to do this week and makes for a very late night tonight. The stories are flying around the state about the Bonusgate investigation and a possible special session on ethics. People are getting more information about this situation and are getting more vocal. Some of the conservative legislators and some who would like to call themselves conservative legislators are now weighing in on things. Everyone wants to be a reformer and everyone is outraged about what has happened. It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. Now there are some real good guys in the legislature but the wanna bes are part of the problem. They go along with the system until the system looks bad and then they pile on. I would have more respect for them if they weren’t so disingenuous.

- John

It is interesting to read more accounts about the budget. Many stories are now questioning the spending total and the revenue projections. Locally, the biggest topic so far has been the lack of funding for full time District Attorneys across the state. One of the things that bother me most about our state government is that the commitments that are made are immediately forgotten. Laws are ignored as well as court orders and the constitution. The lack of funding to the counties to pay for full time DA’s, the fight each year for the scheduled reduction of the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax and the halving of the funds this year for the three year Classrooms for the Future program are three quick examples of why the people of Pennsylvania do not trust their government. When you combine these public policy decisions with all of the behind the scenes shenanigans, like Bonus Gate, it is no wonder why people shrug off the legitimate work of state government.

- John

Happy July 4th everyone! I got home this evening and am ready to cook some hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. I’m beat after this week in Harrisburg. I was the lone “no” vote on the budget today in the Senate. As I had stated in other blog posts this week, I needed to have the line by line budget information far enough ahead to be able to get a real handle on it. We got that information at 10:00 last night and then got an updated version at 11:00 this morning. We were expected to vote on it at 4:00 this afternoon. I also leaned, last evening that the 3.8% spending increase turned into a 3.98% increase. The Governor originally asked for 4.2%, so we’re not too far off from that figure at the end of the process. I also didn’t like the policy decisions that were being made with the budget lines, what is important and what is not, and the fact that again, there is no reform, no significantly new ways of doing business. Last and not least, the projections by some are that we will end the year $800,000 to $2,000,000 in the red if the economy doesn’t turn around. That says to me that we should be making much deeper cuts this year. Remember this blog post a year from now.

- John