Majority of Democrats Reject D.C. Office Cut

The following article was just posted by State House News Service, just moments after the Democratic-controlled House rejected a Republican proposal that would have saved the state $400,000. One of our Democratic counterparts even referred to the line item as a "measly" $400,000. Sure, Massachusetts taxpayers are being asked to dig deep and share in the burden, but apparently that concept doesn't apply to the Governor's spending habits.

House members voted 49-107 to reject a Republican amendment to eliminate a $400,000 line item for Gov. Deval Patrick's Washington D.C. office. Republicans argued that the office should be paid for out of the governor's own budget and that much of the work was already performed by the state's Congressional Delegation. Proponents of the office said the state reaped many times the investment in the Washington office, which helps secure grants, coordinate Medicaid reimbursement negotiations and helps garner stimulus funding. When Rep. David Linsky suggested that the office returns $10,000 to the state for every $1 investment, Rep. Angelo Scaccia launched into a satirical tirade. "If we put in more people down here, for every dollar we put in, we get nearly $10,000," he said. "We can solve all of our financial problems. I’m going to offer a further amendment that we put $10 million in here. We can relish a billion dollars"