Press Conference to Support FMAP

(from our friends at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Budget Coalition and HCAN)

On August 10, 2010, a bipartisan press conference will be held in Media, PA, in support of FMAP funding (which creates a temporary increase in federal funding of Medicaid and Medical Assistance for states).  The press conference will come on the same day that the House is expected to vote on FMAP funding, following a Senate vote on the bill last week.

At the press conference, Senators Edwin Erickson (R-Delaware), Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery), Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery), and Leanna Washington (D-Philadelphia and Montgomery) and Represntative Tom Murt (R-Montgomery) will join together to discuss how the need for FMAP funding rises above partisan lines. In Pennsylvania, FMAP funding is expected to preserve a wide range of services and to prevent the loss of possibly 20,000 jobs in the public and private sector.

While FMAP funding will help fill the $850 million gap in the state budget, it is not expected to completely meet the needs of the state.  At least some programs will still face budget cuts even if FMAP passes. And, as mentioned in earlier posts, funding of FMAP will come at the expense of the SNAP (food stamp) program.  

If you live in Southeastern PA, please join advocates and legislators at the press conference, on front steps of the Delaware County Courthouse, 201 West Front Street, Media, PA 19063, at 11:00 am on Tuesday, August 10, 2010.  Regardless of where you live, please take a moment to contact your federal representative to ask for his or her support of FMAP (you can learn more about the impact of FMAP in your district from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, and you can find ways to contact your legislators at Better Choices for Pennsylvania) and to discuss your feelings on funding FMAP through SNAP

Finally, please also take a moment to contact your state legislators to advocate for the programs that are critical to the needs of Pennsylvanians during this recession, such as healthcare, adult education and training, the Industry Partnership program, and more.

image courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Us664a_microphone.jpg

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Overlooked and Undercounted: Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Pennsylvania

Mini-Budget Update-Supporting the American Community Survey

Overlooked and Undercounted in the Media (#media)