7/16/09

HB 1416

                The Chair recognizes the gentlelady from Luzerne County, Representative Mundy.

                Ms. MUNDY. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

                Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Civera amendment. As chairman of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, I have been working with the Department of Aging and my committee members to expand access to home and community-based services for seniors and those with disabilities. The Civera amendment jeopardizes this effort by decreasing funding for home and community-based services. It is clear that older Pennsylvanians want to remain at home and in their communities as long as possible and we must continue to offer them sufficient programs and services that enable them to do that. Some will say that in these challenging economic times we cannot afford to continue our progress toward providing in-home services to this vulnerable population. I say we cannot afford not to because providing individuals with the support they need to age in place, not only makes sense from a quality-of-life standpoint, by allowing seniors and the disabled to maintain their independence, but it is also much more cost effective for taxpayers. It costs about $52,000 to provide 1 year of nursing-home care compared to $21,000 for home and community-based services. The importance of these cost savings will only increase with our large, aging baby-boomer population.

                The Commonwealth has 31 percent more people over 85 than we did in 2000, and the number of paid days in nursing facilities has gone down by $1 million. This is no coincidence. The expansion of community-based services, community-based waivers are serving more people at a lower cost in the setting they prefer. The Civera amendment reverses this trend and ultimately will cost us more. The same individuals we will serve at home in HB 1416 would enter nursing homes. This amendment is not good for seniors and the disabled, and it is most certainly not good for taxpayers.

                Another reason that I oppose this amendment is that is slashes funding for many tested and proven programs for children. Research consistently shows and the evidence continues to mount, that the most critical developmental stage for any human being is the early childhood years. No period is more important in helping to determine how we learn and how we live. The Civera amendment flies in the face of this fact and cuts funding to programs that are critical to the enhancement of our children's growth and development. Investments in early childhood care and education produce substantial long-term benefits for the child, the family, for society as a whole, and for our economy. The evidence is overwhelming. A recent study showed savings of $17 for every dollar invested in early childhood education. These are returns that would make the most frugal budget hawk very happy.

                This amendment slashes funding for Pre-K Counts. It slashes funding for child-care services to a level that would jeopardize the Commonwealth's ability to procure $60 million in Federal stimulus funds. The Civera amendment would force existing families out of the Subsidized Child Care Program. These families might need to go on Welfare because they can no longer afford childcare while they work. It reduces the county child welfare appropriation by $10 million. With this cut, counties will be forced to choose whether to cut children services or raise property taxes. Funding for the Nurse-Family Partnership would be cut by 23 percent and eliminate 850 families statewide from this critically important program.

                Mr. Speaker, while I recognize the dire financial straits our Commonwealth is facing, we cannot just arbitrarily slash funding for programs that are not only critical to the welfare of our citizens, but vital to the long-term economic health of our State. While HB 1416 makes significant cuts in State spending, it does not do so on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. The Civera amendment is penny-wise and pound-foolish. I ask the members to join me in standing up for children, for seniors, and those with disabilities by defeating the Civera amendment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.