Yesterday Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Quigley was grilled by PA lawmakers as to why his department continues to be understaffed–when there’s money earmarked to hire new people. Quigley’s roundabout answer? His boss, Gov. Tom Wolf, won’t let him hire anyone new, using the excuse that last year’s budget is not finalized. The radically partisan Wolf continues to use the budget as a political weapon against Republicans. But here’s the thing–the money to hire new DEP personnel is already there, raised from fees assessed on drillers or transferred from the federal government. The money required for hiring many of the new people for the DEP isn’t part of the general fund. Yet Wolf won’t let Quigley hire, sleazily trying to spin it as a “Republicans won’t pass the budget” excuse. Shame on Wolf for lying about what he’s doing. Quigley was on the hot seat yesterday, and Republican legislators didn’t hold back, telling Quigley to quit whining and to start owning his own mess…
