The final state budget working its way through the state GeneralAssembly cuts even deeper into money for social services, traumahospitals, cancer tracking, long-term health care and other spendingthan Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed spending plan.
The $27.15 billion budget is $150 million less than thegovernor's despite a projected year-end surplus of $700 million,according to figures provided by legislative leaders.
Overall, spending for the Department of Public Welfare, whichoversees the bulk of state spending to aid low-income residents, wastrimmed by another $651.6 million, according to a copy of thebudget.
"It's totally unfair," said Gary Drapek, chairman of the UnitedWay of Pennsylvania and president and chief executive officer of theUnited Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties. "What's happening overand over again is they're trying to balance the budget on the backsof the poor" who lack lobbyists and are less likely to vote.
Drapek said the budget continues a five-year trend of decliningstate money for people who need it most in an era when people whonever asked for help before need it. More and more often, residentsseeking aid from local social service agencies are people who usedto contribute to the United Way, Drapek said.
"And what it's going to do is put a greater burden on everycommunity in Pennsylvania to try to come up with more money to helpthese people who need help and those who need help are middle-classAmericans who never needed help before," he said.
The final budget cuts funding for:
- County assistance offices another $2.3 million. Overall, it isdown $7.7 million from this year.
- Child support enforcement another $139,000. Overall, it is down$885,000.
- The New Directions job training program for needy familiesanother $174,000. Overall, it is down $15.6 million.
- Outpatient Medicaid by $46.4 million. In his budget, Corbetthad actually increased this allocation by $22 million so thelegislative cut leaves the program down $24.4 million overall fromthis year.
- Long-term care, which is mostly for senior citizens, by $133million from this year. Corbett had actually increased that fundingby almost $164.5 million.
- Behavioral health services another $4.3 million. Overall, it isdown $5.3 million.
- County child welfare payments by $23.5 million. Overall, it isdown $45.1 million.
- Child care assistance by $18.3 million. Overall, it is downalmost $17.6 million because Corbett had proposed an increase of$750,000.
- Homeless assistance another almost $2.1 million. Overall, it isdown almost $2.3 million.
Drapek said the homeless assistance cut is especially troublingbecause federal funding for an emergency food and shelter program isbeing cut 40 percent.
The budget restores:
- 75 percent of the $4.9 million the governor eliminated fromMedicaid obstetric and neonatal services.
- 75 percent of the $11.5 million the governor eliminated fortrauma centers statewide such as the one operated by CommunityMedical Center.
- About half the $6.3 million the governor eliminated forcommunity-based family centers.
- Almost two-thirds of the $23.5 million Human ServicesDevelopment Fund, which pays for a variety of miscellaneous programsstatewide, including Meals on Wheels locally.
- 40 percent of the $2.5 million the governor eliminated forhealth care clinics.
- All $1.55 million the governor eliminated for services forchildren with special needs.
Robert Durkin, president of the Northeast Regional CancerInstitute, whose state funding was wiped out in the governor'sbudget, said he appreciated the Assembly restoring $112,500, butlamented the fact that new taxes that could easily help restore thecuts was ignored.
He was referring to the Republican-led Assembly's refusal to passtaxes on Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction, smokeless tobaccoproducts and Internet sales and to close the "Delaware loophole"that allows companies to shift revenues to states with lower taxes.
Durkin said state cuts have forced the Institute to cut itsbudget from $2.6 million to $1.9 million and hampered its ability totrack cancer and teach people how to spot cancer early.
"These are proven best practices," he said. "Every time you getone person diagnosed in the early stages, you're saving the systemhundreds of thousands of dollars."
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