Frustrated by the lack of progress on the 2008-09 state budget, state Rep.

Brian Ellis, R-11th, is calling on Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives to move the budget process forward in an open environment."It's almost the beginning of June, and we still have not started the debate on the state budget," Ellis said. "Year after year, since this governor has been in office, we have been unable to enact a budget prior to the June 30 deadline."Ellis has urged the Democratic leadership to allow legislators to vote for their spending priorities which are encompassed in more than 80 amendments to the spending plan."This is one of the largest responsibilities we have as members of the Legislature," he said, referring to enacting a state budget each year.Ellis linked this year's budget hold up to the governor's recent announcement to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike and his ongoing push to provide a government funded and operated health care insurance program."These two items should not be part of budget negotiations," he said. "Legislators deserve ample time to read over the materials and digest all of the information contained in the documents."It is unrealistic to expect members of both the House and Senate to make such important policy decisions without fleshing out every detail, and this certainly would take more than a month of deliberations to accomplish."Ellis claimed Democratic leaders are delaying a budget vote to push for a closed door deal, without any public discussion on the issue.———The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday approved bipartisan legislation that supporters claim would help relieve dependence on imported oil while easing the economic strain on parents, homeowners and businesses.Reps.

Phil English, R-3rd, and

Jason Altmire, D-4th, both voted for the measure that passed the House, 263 to 160."This legislation will shield taxpayers from getting hit with tax hikes, allowing them to continue to keep more of their hard-earned dollars," said English, ranking member on the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee said.The measure renews dozens of targeted tax breaks that have expired or will expire soon and provides new tax relief by expanding for a year the refundable child tax credit available to lower income families.It allows, for one year, a new deduction of property taxes for nonitemizers, worth up to $700 for a couple."With a weak economy, it is more important than ever for us to provide targeted tax relief to American taxpayers and help small businesses create jobs," Altmire said."This bill provides $56 billion in tax relief to help strengthen our economy, including tax deductions for college tuition expenses, business research and development, the production and use of renewable energy and a host of other important initiatives."The measure extends deductions for the out-of-pocket expenses of teachers.Additionally, the bill would provide some $17 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, carbon capture and sequestration projects, plug-in cars and technology for green buildings.It provides $8.8 billion over 10 years to renew the research and development tax credit.It creates a new category of tax credit bonds to finance state and local government initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.