David Rowe

HARRISBURG — It began in a spare, utilitarian room at the State Capitol–Room 418, a space usually reserved for quiet routine. On Tuesday, however, the room hummed with the low murmur of anticipation as the House Republican Policy Committee assembled, intent on making a public case for supporting a government that does more with less.

The hearing, titled “Government Efficiency in Action,” had a simple promise: real-world answers to a question every taxpayer asks but rarely gets answered–how can government get leaner and smarter at the same time?

Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the day’s chief witness, offered a blunt assessment. The Treasury, she said, is moving away from the comfort of “doing things just because it’s how they’ve always been done.” It is a familiar refrain in the public sector, but in Garrity’s case, the claim came attached to specifics.

The Treasury’s record, she explained, is now measured not in tradition but in modern outcomes: upgraded technology, less waste, and a new level of customer service. “A modern Treasury is one that can adapt quickly,” Garrity said. The results, according to her testimony and those who spoke after, include streamlined operations, faster response times for Pennsylvanians, and dollars saved for the state without trimming the essentials.

The hearing was not staged in a vacuum. As lawmakers on both sides of the aisle eye the calendar and negotiate over the looming state budget, the Policy Committee–chaired by Rep. David H. Rowe (R-Snyder, Juniata, Mifflin, Union)–sought to make a point that resonates beyond the Capitol: efficiency isn’t a campaign slogan. It is a blueprint for governing.

Rowe pointed directly at the Treasury as a case study, contrasting Garrity’s approach with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget, which increases spending but, critics say, does little to change how agencies actually function.

Throughout the morning, a parade of Republican lawmakers, among them Reps. Kristin Marcell, Dane Watro, Jake Banta, and others, filled seats around the hearing table, notebooks open, questions at the ready. Their common refrain: What will it take for the rest of the Pennsylvania government to follow the Treasury’s lead?

Testimony returned again and again to the same themes–measurable results, not slogans; responsible spending, not new bureaucracy; a government that reports to its citizens, not to itself.

The Treasury’s policy director, Thomas Armstrong, took the discussion deeper. He detailed how targeted upgrades–many technological–have made it possible for the department to deliver more with less staff, reducing costs while improving the quality of service to citizens.

Armstrong cited examples such as moving more services online, eliminating outdated paperwork, and adopting private-sector best practices to speed up operations. Each change, he argued, could be replicated elsewhere in state government, provided there is the will to challenge entrenched systems.

Underlying the policy arguments was a sense of urgency. With Pennsylvania’s budget negotiations entering a decisive stretch, Rowe and his fellow lawmakers pressed the idea that efficiency is not a luxury for stable years but a necessity when resources are tight and expectations high.

For taxpayers in Snyder, Union, Mifflin, Juniata, and across the state, what happens in rooms like 418 matters. “The Pennsylvania Treasury under Treasurer Garrity is doing more with less–and doing it well,” Rowe said. “This is exactly how government should work.”

The day’s hearing may not have settled the state budget or solved every inefficiency in Harrisburg, but it sent a message: There are models for a government that values outcomes over optics.

As Pennsylvanians watch the budget process unfold, the Policy Committee clarified it expects state agencies to deliver more than promises. The work, they argued, is about rebuilding public trust–one leaner agency at a time.