|
For Immediate
Release
3/21/07
CONTACT:
SEAN MOLL
(717) 783-0192
PA
Senate Republican Communications
(717) 787-6725
Senators Rafferty and Orie Introduce Legislation to
Tighten PHEAA Board Practices
(Harrisburg) – State Senator John
Rafferty (R-Montgomery) and State Senator Jane C. Orie (R-Allegheny)
today unveiled their legislative plan to restructure the current
appointment, reporting, and accounting procedures of the Pennsylvania
Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) Board.
This legislation will require PHEAA to
contract with a third party accounting firm to conduct an annual
forensic audit of the PHEAA Board which must be submitted to the House
and Senate Finance Committees by April 1 of each year. PHEAA would also
be required on that date to submit a report to the Senate and House
Finance Committees which contains all expenses and revenues associated
with the operations of the PHEAA Board.
This legislation also requires that all
appointees to the PHEAA Board selected by the House and the Senate be
approved by a majority vote in their respective chambers. It would
prohibit standing legislators from serving more than 2 consecutive terms
on the PHEAA Board.
“Our goal is to bring greater accountability
and fiscal responsibility to PHEAA and ensure that funds are not spent
in a wasteful or unnecessary manner,” Rafferty said. “The recent stories
of financial mismanagement and over-the top-spending have made it
necessary for us to take a closer look at the Agency’s fiscal bottom
line.”
Orie added that the legislation will ensure
that PHEAA revenue is used for the purpose it was intended – to provide
low-interest grants and loans to students.
“Lavish trips, tuxedos, and spa visits are
not defensible expenses and should be stopped,” Orie said. “This
legislation will ensure that money is spent prudently and put PHEAA on
notice that it has to be accountable to the Legislature and the citizens
of Pennsylvania.”
 Print this page
E-mail
this page
|
