Costa Honored by Neighborhood Legal Services

PITTSBURGH – Sen. Costa was recently honored by the Neighborhood Legal Services Association for his work to promote the mission of the NLSA in providing legal services to individuals and families in Western Pennsylvania.

Read more by viewing Sen. Costa’s profile in the NLSA’s publication “A Tribute to Our Honorable Alumni.”

Costa serves as a board member of the NLSA. To learn more about the NLSA, visit their website at www.nlsa.us.

As a member of the Senate of Pennsylvania, Costa strives to ensure that legal service groups like the NLSA receive adequate funding in the state budget each fiscal year.

Republican Budget Hurts Students, Cuts Teachers, and Slows Job Creation

HARRISBURG — Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) issued the following statement after passage of the $27.15 billion state budget which all Democrats voted against:

“We have been calling for a state budget that reflects shared sacrifice and fairness to all Pennsylvanians since March. It is now clear that our consistent calls fell on deaf ears. This budget disproportionately affects our middle class while jeopardizing the quality and affordability of our education system at all levels, pre-K through college.

The state budget, the product of a closed-door deal crafted by Republicans in the House, Senate, and Governor’s office, contains a cut of more than $900 million to basic education, while also drastically reducing state support to community colleges (10 percent cut), state system (18 percent cut) and state related (19 percent cut) colleges and universities. It eliminates the funding for charter school reimbursements which were funded at $224 million last year.  This hurts our most economically-challenged districts at the worst possible time. 

Not only will this budget force thousands of teachers to lose their jobs, but it also puts our economic recovery at risk. Cuts to successful job creation initiatives with a proven track record will stall. This budget makes significant funding cuts to business incubators and small business development centers. It will also force these entities, along with Industrial Resource Centers and Industrial Development Agencies to compete for the limited funds. Furthermore, state funding to our academic medical centers will be slashed in half. These research and teaching hospitals are economic engines that not only drive medical and research jobs into our communities, but attract millions in federal grants and private investment. This budget is a blow to medical institutions and the communities, like Pittsburgh, which have thrived and benefitted because of them.

In addition to education cuts, the Republican budget also fails to dedicate enough funding to the hospital assessment to draw down much-needed federal funds. Hospitals will also be forced to pay for more costs as a result of this budget.  While there is modest restoration for uncompensated care — $16.5 million — it is not nearly what is needed, further crippling hospitals. 

We understand there is a need to be fiscally responsible in the current economic climate, but this budget falls far short of being responsible by cutting from those that need it the most. It is not responsible to make a commitment to big business at the expense of education. It is unfathomable that we are going to pass a budget that will lay off thousands of teachers and leave students in packed classrooms while stashing away hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

It is not responsible to allow natural gas companies to make millions in profits while local communities are left to deal with the consequences and the costs of gas drilling.

It is a new day in Pennsylvania. In this Pennsylvania, we ask the poor to sacrifice and suffer, the middle class to make concessions and do all we can to make sure that the rich get richer. This is a Pennsylvania characterized by closed door deals and beholden to big business. This is not a path that I want to see our state go down, and this is not a state budget I can support.”

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Costa fights to restore cuts made to University of Pittsburgh

HARRISBURG – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa continued to push Republican leadership to restore unreasonably deep budget cuts on Sunday night by introducing an amendment to restore state funding to the University of Pittsburgh to last year’s level without raising any taxes or fees.

Costa’s amendment to Senate Bill 1123 would have reinstated the nearly $32 million state funding cut proposed to the University of Pittsburgh in the Republican’s budget ‘agreement’ by looking at cost efficiencies within the Department of Corrections budget and federalizing inmate health care provided outside institutions.

“It is unconscionable that our Republican counterparts are inclined to leave hundreds of millions of dollars on the table while our middle class and our students are going to shoulder an unnecessary and potentially crippling financial burden in this budget,” Costa said.

“The University of Pittsburgh is regarded nationally as one of the finest higher education institutions and public research facilities in the country.  By taking away this state investment and forcing our state institutions to raise tuition, we are effectively crushing the higher aspirations of many Pennsylvania families who will now be unable to afford the cost of a college education.”

Costa’s amendment fell short by a party line vote of 30-20.

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Costa, Ferlo and Fontana announce grant for natural gas-powered refuse trucks

HARRISBURG – The City of Pittsburgh will be awarded a $500,000 grant to purchase four new refuse trucks powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), state Sens. Jay Costa, Jim Ferlo and Wayne Fontana announced today.

The funds were awarded through the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act monies. No other project in the commonwealth was capable of combining an operational public-access CNG fueling facility with a natural gas-fueled public refuse fleet within ARRA’s time constraints.

“This is a pilot project, but the long-term goal is to replace the city’s entire fleet of refuse trucks to CNG as a fuel source,” Costa said. “There are 80 trucks operating in the city limits that could eventually be operating on natural gas.”

The DEP estimates that the conversion of just four trucks to CNG will reduce CO2 and other pollutants by over 200,000 lbs. per year. In addition to the reduction in air pollution, the project will significantly cut fuel expenses.

“This is a project that pays for itself over time,” said Ferlo. “Although CNG trucks cost more to purchase than a traditional truck, the annual fuel savings of $9,600 per vehicle would return the initial investment in less than four years.”

Fontana said the project would set a good example for other cities and large municipalities in Pennsylvania to follow. “With its strong commitment to green energy projects, Pittsburgh continues to make its mark as a city that innovates,” Fontana said. “This is another example of how our city is leading the way.”

The fueling station will be operational by July 2011 and is located within two blocks of the public works facility.

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Health care the focus of capitol news conference

HARRISBURG – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa joined Senate Democrats and medical professionals in a call to restore the potentially disastrous cuts proposed to Pennsylvania’s medical schools, bioscience investments and regional cancer centers.

The news conference put the spotlight on state investment versus state spending.  Senate Democrats argued that proven, successful investments and preventative cost-saving approaches, such as the Life Science Greenhouses (LSG) program and Pennsylvania’s life-saving Regional Cancer Centers, should be spared from the proverbial budget axe.

Through February 15th of this year, LSGs have been responsible for 3,175 new jobs, 2,763 jobs retained, 136 new companies supported and the creation of an estimated 20,006 indirect jobs through prudent early stage investment that has leveraged millions in private commitments to new and promising life science technologies and innovations.

“From an economic standpoint, we have to realize that modest investments in our state-related academic medical centers are multiplied several times over when you take into account the private and federal dollars which flow into Pennsylvania as a result of the success of these institutions,” Costa said. “We can’t lose sight of the big picture and make reductions now that will cost us in years to come.”

Another concern of Senate Democrats is the potentially crippling funding reductions proposed to the state’s medical schools, specifically the two-year old Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC) in Scranton.  State funding for TCMC was completely eliminated in both Gov. Corbett’s and the House Republicans’ budget proposals.