State Rep. Tim Krieger (R-Delmont) issued the following statement today regarding Governor Tom Corbett’s 2011-2012 state budget proposal:

“I agree with Governor Tom Corbett that it is time for fiscal discipline in state government. As I have said before, Harrisburg does not have a revenue problem so much as a spending problem.

“Budgeting is about setting priorities. The governor’s proposed 2011-12 state budget is a good starting point. Many of the details will be refined by the Legislature as we move forward.

“One priority that must be more comprehensively addressed is welfare spending. Auditor General Jack Wagner established a good framework for this effort by identifying as much as $700 million in increased annual taxpayer costs due to welfare fraud. My colleagues and I on the House Republican Welfare Reform Task Force will be looking closely at the Department of Public Welfare for additional spending cuts.

“My first priority in this year’s budget process is to protect the hard-working people of the 57th district who pay the taxes spent too freely in Harrisburg. Together we can climb out of this fiscal hole.”

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