Marshall Sanford: “the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight held a field hearing in early July in Cleveland. Amongst those who gave…”

“the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight held a field hearing in early July in Cleveland. Amongst those who gave testimony were the mayor of Philadelphia, Edward Rendell. Madam Speaker, I was fascinated by his story because 3 rac{1}{2} years ago Philadelphia stood at the brink of financial disaster. They were a quarter of a billion dollars in debt. Their bonds had been rated junk. Vendors as lowly as toilet paper suppliers said, ``No more. We are not dealing with Philadelphia.'' They had lost 30 percent of their tax base. Taxes had gone up 19 times over the last 11 years. Yet today, Madam Speaker, the city enjoys a $29 million surplus. They have investment-grade bonds. For the first time since World War II, they have had a tax cut. How did they do it? One, they created an entrepreneurial environment wherein government was to view customers as king, and in this case, the taxpayer was to be king. Two, they were to spend government dollars as if they were their own. Madam Speaker, if Philadelphia can do that, I think America and the Federal Government can do that.”