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Title : Help Secure the Safety Net, Fend Off Job Loss - Sign On!	Date Posted : Febuary 18, 2010
Help Secure the Safety Net for Children & Families, Fend off Job Cuts in the Health & Human Services Sector Add your name today to the attached sign on letter headed to the PA Congressional Delegation urging immediate extension of state fiscal relief, particularly the enhanced federal Medicaid match rate. Without such an extension PA’s 2010-2011 (upcoming) budget could have a hole of more than $800 million – that’s one BIG hole in the state’s overall safety net (and that is in addition to a projected current year deficit of better than $450 million)! Download the letter via the link at the bottom of this page. To sign onto the letter simply CLICK HERE. Please act immediately so Congress is persuaded to get this done in February. Sign on before COB on Tuesday, February 23rd, sign on by clicking here. WHY IS ACTION NEEDED? PA children and families have experienced cuts as part of the most recent state budget BUT those cuts were blunted, in part, by the fact that Congress and President Obama enacted an economic recovery and reinvestment act that wisely invested in children, families as well as state and local governments. State fiscal relief, including the temporary enhancement of the federal Medicaid match rate (the federal government picked up more of the costs for Medicaid as well as certain child welfare services) infused nearly $4 billion into Pennsylvania’s budget during a 27 month period (including the current fiscal year). An enhanced FMAP not only assured that children had access to health care even when mom or dad lost their paycheck, that children were safe (and at home) even as families experienced fiscal crisis, but also provided insulation to the entire state budget so that cuts to every department, in every service area did not need to occur (or become deeper). Congress intended the relief to be temporary so it is set to expire in 2010 (before the end of the 2010-2011 state fiscal year) but Congress also expected that the Great Recession would have subsided and economic recovery would be well underway in 2010. The Recession is over but the rebound is far from a reality for Main Street families so it is appropriate and necessary for Congress to offer some additional temporary help to families. After you sign onto this letter, take a minute to also call Senators Casey and Specter and your member of the U.S. House to urge the extension of FMAP. Here are a few reminders of how tough times remain for children and families: Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose in December to 8.9 percent. The state’s unemployment rate has increased by more than 4 percent since the recession’s onset in 2007. As of January, more than 1,554 million Pennsylvanians - 12.5 percent of the state’s population - were receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (formerly Food Stamps); Enrollment in the Children’s Health Insurance Program continues to climb – increasing by more than 12,000 over the past year to its current level of 196,220; Over 2.1 million citizens of the state (17.5 percent) are eligible for Medicaid – nearly 1.1 million of whom are children; Together, CHIP and Medicaid are covering about 44 percent of the Commonwealth’s children; Demand at local food banks and health centers has been staggering and reports of suspected child abuse and domestic violence homicides have increased over the last year. Senator Casey can be reached toll-free at (866) 802-283. Senator Specter can be reached in DC at 202-224-4254, or by calling any of the following offices: 814-453-3010 (Erie) 717-782-3951 (Harrisburg) 610-434-1444 (Lehigh Valley) 215-597-7200 (Philadelphia) 412-644-3400 (Pittsburgh) 570-346-2006 (Scranton)
	Download: Safety Net sign on letter Feb 2010.doc
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