Ehrlich on Washington column, April 30, 2001

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of April 30, 200 1 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Another 90 Days, Another Huge Deficit The Maryland General Assembly just concluded its annual 90 day session in Annapolis. While I am no longer a member of the state legislature, I take an active interest in the assembly’s agenda. Much of the work I do in Congress — passing appropriations bills, debating environmental protections, evaluating tax cuts, approving highway construction projects — is directly related to the work of the Maryland General Assembly. This year, I was especially interested in the work of the legislature. I spent a lot of time working with members, republicans and democrats alike, because the state was on a spending spree that I believe is irresponsible. The budget the legislature approved for next year, for the first time in Maryland’s history, will actually spend more than the state will receive in revenue. Maryland’s constitution requires a balanced budget, but the governor was able to strong arm the legislature into spending almost $550 million of the state’s “Rainy Day” fund in order to balance his budget. The Rainy Day fund is an account created to help the state meet its obligations in the event of a slowdown in the economy. If the state’s coffers start to run dry, there is money set aside. Like most families, it’s always wise to have some money put away for emergencies. Clearly, the state is facing no emergency. Revenues are way up. The economy is humming along nicely, but even that is not enough for Parris Glendening. In his six years as governor, the state’s budget has increased by almost 50%, even though the average income in Maryland has increased only 25%. He has added almost 5,000 new state employees and introduced dozens of new spending programs that the state will be paying for in years to come. The state is on a spending spree. Ironically, the U.S. Congress is following a fiscal discipline unheard of until recently. Since 1994, when the republicans took charge of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the federal budget has been balanced and the public debt is being paid off in record amounts. I served for eight years as a member of the Maryland General Assembly. One of the early and easiest lessons I learned was about spending within our means. Back then, the Legislature had a very strict set of spending standards to keep the governor’s budget in check. The Legislative