For years now, the Department of Health has received tens of millions of dollars in funding from the Emergency Services Operating Fund (EMSOF) to support our regional EMS councils and their operations throughout Pennsylvania.

Yet recently our Commonwealth’s auditor general conducted a comprehensive audit of EMSOF and the flow of funding and discovered that millions of dollars in funds have been unaccounted for and are lacking in accurate and timely documentation to show where and how those funds are being utilized. Not only that, but after 15 consecutive years and five audits worth of recommendations from the Auditor General’s office through prior audits the Department of Health has failed to adequately address and implement several of the recommendations which could solve several of these key issues. In the Auditor General’s own words, “After 15 years of audits, DOH doesn’t really know if the money it distributed to help EMS was used for allowable purposes 68 percent of the time. This is unacceptable.”.

With this in mind, I will soon be introducing legislation to require the Department of Health to submit an annual report on activities and expenditures relating to EMSOF to the General Assembly by October 1st of each year. Thereby ensuring financial accountability and fiscal responsibility relating to the use of EMSOF funds.

Please join me in sponsoring this critical piece of legislation so that we may cultivate a culture of fiscal responsibility and ensure Pennsylvania dollars are used where they should be for the benefit of our statewide emergency response apparatus and all Commonwealth citizens.