No Legislative Oversight, Lack of Financial Backing Panned by Senate Democrats
Harrisburg, May 13, 2013 – A new unfunded education mandate now being quietly pursued by the Corbett administration will soon saddle school districts with a $300 million expense and threaten graduation for thousands of students across Pennsylvania, Senate Democrats said today at a Capitol news conference.
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Sen. Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester) Democratic chair of the Senate Education Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), Sens. Judy Schwank, John Blake and Jim Brewster all expressed their displeasure and concerns about the proposed changes.
“We are not opposed to the implementation of Common Core standards for Pennsylvania’s students,” Dinniman said. “But we are opposed to Common Core standards without adequate state financial resources for our schools so that all of our students have the opportunity to succeed under those standards, including those in financially distressed school districts.
“For the Commonwealth to increase standards without the adequate fiscal resources is a charade. It is a sham that will only lead to false hope,” Dinniman said.
Common Core standards are being sought by the state Department of Education as a way to determine proficiency and graduation eligibility.
According to Dinniman, the implementation of Common Core standards will result in an unfunded mandate of at least $300 million for local schools. There is no specified funding or plan to provide for the remedial instruction, the redesign of curriculum, or the project-based assessments for those who repeatedly fail the tests.
“The implementation of these new standards should be reviewed thoroughly by the General Assembly,” Costa said. “This whole new testing structure will cost taxpayers dearly and it is being implemented without a full understanding of the benefits for students, teachers, administrators and taxpayers.
“A complete explanation of what is being sought by the department is necessary before Pennsylvania schools put these new standards into play.”
Schwank, who represents the economically and academically struggling Reading School District, said the new testing will be particularly devastating to fiscally challenged schools.
“School districts like Reading, as well as many others around the state, are drowning in red ink now,” Schwank said. “These new mandates, without proper fiscal support, will make their financial plight even worse.
“There is certainly nothing wrong with increasing proficiency standards but students, teachers and schools must have resources to invest to address deficiencies.”
To implement new standards and testing procedures without adding dollars makes no sense, Blake (D-Lackawanna) noted. Especially, he said, after the Corbett administration has slashed basic education support by $900 million.
“To add new core testing procedures and a mandate at a cost exceeding $300 million after cutting education support is irresponsible,” Blake said. “The local property taxpayer is going to get squeezed and economically strapped schools and taxpayers will bear an even greater burden.”
Brewster said instead of implementing more tests and costs, educators and the Corbett administration need to step back and decide whether the current testing structure is constructive. He has proposed Senate Bill 823 to create a bi-partisan commission to recommend changes or a total scrapping of the current student testing procedures.
“My belief is we need to look at what we are doing with student testing and come up with a new, better approach that accurately reflects student, school, teacher and community performance,” Brewster said. “Today’s tests are flawed and the whole system is need of restructuring.”
Senate Democrats also lamented that the new Common Core tests involve 10 days of testing, which takes even more time away from traditional instruction.
They added that districts could receive a deeper financial bludgeoning if students fail to pass the tests.
The new Common Core standards will exacerbate the problem of teaching to the test, Senate Democrats said.
Harrisburg – May 8, 2013 – State Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) released the following statement on the decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to uphold the legislative redistricting plan:
“The approval of the redistricting plan by the state Supreme Court is disappointing. We believe that we successfully argued that a fair map, one that includes far fewer municipality, county and community splits, could be created. Our arguments and rationale were consistent and constructive throughout the process.
“Our belief is that the map approved by the commission is partisan and only serves narrow, partisan political interests. We believe there are better alternatives and we offered those during the long reapportionment process.
“However Senate Democrats recognize that the court has now ruled and that it is time to move on in crafting policies that serve all the citizens of Pennsylvania.”
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Harrisburg, April 29, 2013 – State Sen. Jay Costa released the following statement on the state Insurance Department’s approval of Highmark’s proposed affiliation with the West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS).
Costa has been a strong proponent of the affiliation of the insurer and the hospital system as a means to promote competition in the delivery of health care in Western Pennsylvania, preserve community access and foster the growth of jobs in the industry.
“I am very pleased with the decision by the Insurance Department to permit the affiliation of Highmark and WPAHS. This affiliation is critical to a fair, competitive and robust health-care service delivery system in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“For too long, there has been anxiety and apprehension about health-care choices and there has been too much controversy. This approval is one step in the long-term process of resolving all the health-care issues involving Highmark, WPAHS and UPMC.
“Consumers deserve a better, stronger WPAHS health-care system with choices. The affiliation will result in greater access, reduced costs, more employment opportunities, and it will help sustain communities.
“The affiliation is critical for the future of high-quality, reasonably priced health care in the Pittsburgh area. The community hospitals that are part of the WPAHS are more than health-care operations. For many in the Pittsburgh area, these facilities are lifelines.
“I am hopeful that this is just the beginning of reforming the health-care delivery system in the Pittsburgh area.”
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Harrisburg, April 17, 2013 – Senate Democrats’ 2013-14 budget priorities are heavily weighted toward job creation, education investments, strengthening the social-services safety net, modernizing liquor sales and refocusing Pennsylvania’s business tax menu to help small businesses, they announced today at a Capitol news conference.
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said that Senate Democrats will go into this year’s budget negotiations with a clear purpose and “are resolved that the state’s economy must be jump-started. New jobs must be created and we have to reverse the negative course that the Corbett administration has plotted for Pennsylvania on education and protecting our most vulnerable.”
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“We have an opportunity and a responsibility to seek new investments and use resources that are available to change policy direction during this year’s budget negotiations.”
Costa said Senate Democrats believe that more than 120,000 jobs can be created quickly by enacting a responsible transportation plan, expanding Medicaid and using economic development policies outlined in their PA Works plan.
Costa was joined by a host of Senate Democrats in making today’s announcement.
Sen. Vincent Hughes, who serves as the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that by taking action now on key economic initiatives then restoring job creation and community programs to their past luster — before Corbett budgets sliced them to the core — is an excellent starting point.
“We need to start creating jobs right now and we can do that by working on transportation and Medicaid expansion,” Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) said. “These initiatives coupled with rebuilding water and sewer systems, investing in schools and new technologies will create economic growth immediately.
“In addition, by investing in programs such as Main Street, Elm Street and international business we can help small business here while they market their products abroad.,”
Democratic Whip Sen. Tony Williams (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) said that the caucus was turning up the heat on the Corbett administration on jobs, health care, education and social safety net issues because the governor has failed to lead.
“We’ve outlined reasonable strategic policy alternatives that will reverse direction and provide a new path and we’ve identified revenues that will pay for the proposed expenditures,” Williams said. “Pennsylvania is rudderless on job creation and our economic numbers and business indicators under this administration illustrate the problem.
“Our most vulnerable can also not withstand another senseless round of Corbett cuts and we have to restore programs that promote help for those in need.”
Williams said that Pennsylvania is now 43rd in job creation, falling from eighth place among all states under Gov. Ed Rendell’s leadership. Plus, he said, last month’s unemployment claims fell nationally to below 350,000 but, because of Corbett policy short-sightedness, Pennsylvania led the country in new unemployment claims.
Senate Democrats said that they have laid out specific plans to achieve results in the 2013-14 budget in five areas. These include: strategic investments to create jobs; improving education; repositioning business taxes while closing business tax loopholes; modernizing the wine and spirits stores; and repairing and protecting social safety net programs.
The caucus leaders said that they’ve noted at least $750 million in annual savings, plus another $150 million in one-time revenues. They also said that we need to find resources to pay for specific new expenditures including $225 million for basic education, $50 million to aid distressed cities and communities, $40 million for transitional housing and homeownership among other items, and funds for new tax credits for a variety of areas including film production.
Democrats said that priority details include a three-year phase in of new monies to restore education dollars and key student-performance based initiatives that were cut by the Corbett administration in the last two budgets.
They also said that they would emphasize rebuilding struggling communities through their Growth, Progress and Sustainability (GPS) plan; seek new funds for transitional housing and new homeownership opportunities; and push for modernizing the wine and spirits stores rather than the opt for the risky privatization scheme that has been sought by the Corbett administration.
The Democrats indicated that they expected the negotiations to become more focused once the Senate returns to session in late April.
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Costa, Hughes prod Corbett to act
Harrisburg, March 28, 2013 – Two top Democratic state Senators who have been urging the Corbett administration to expand Medicaid said the governor should pay attention to a new, detailed study commissioned by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) that shows the advantages of enrolling more Pennsylvanians in Medicaid.
Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), the Senate Democratic leader, and Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Sen. Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) said the study underscores the arguments they and their colleagues have been making: expanding Medicaid makes fiscal, political and moral sense.
“The evidence is clear that expanding Medicaid will help hundreds of thousands gain access to health care, save the state money, bolster the economy, create jobs and not cost the Corbett administration a dime,” Costa said. “The governor needs to weigh the evidence and do the math and expand Medicaid.”
Hughes, along with his Democratic colleagues on the appropriations committee, recently held a hearing on the issue in Pittsburgh and a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia to highlight the need for the expansion. Senate Democrats have introduced Senate Bill 12 which would compel Pennsylvania to participate in the expansion.
“The HAP study is conclusive that Medicaid expansion will deliver $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion in annual federal payments to Pennsylvania, generate more than $3.2 billion in economic activity and support more than 35,000 jobs,” Hughes said. “Most importantly, the study says 350,000 low-income, non-elderly Pennsylvanians would gain health insurance.”
The HAP study said Medicaid expansion will cost Pennsylvania $1.64 billion. However, $1.46 billion will be generated by gross receipts taxes and another $270 million will be generated from personal income taxes on jobs supported by the expansion. The revenue exceeds the costs by $90 million.
The proposed Medicaid expansion would cover individuals whose incomes are at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) included the expansion as a part of the coverage menu but was challenged in court.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA in its June 2012 decision but said states could decide on their own if they wanted to opt in to the expansion of Medicaid.
“We need to move aggressively in implementing provisions of the ACA so that we can help those who desperately need health care,” Hughes said. “The Corbett administration has been slow to come around to what we’ve been saying about the advantages of participating in the expansion of Medicaid.
“A small legion of Republican governors – including those from surrounding states and others who have far-right philosophies – have already said they will lead their states in helping more of their residents by expanding Medicaid. We need Gov. Corbett to take a good look at this study and lead.”
The HAP study says the enrollment of 350,000 more Pennsylvanians in Medicaid will drop the uninsured rate from 12.7 percent to 8.1 percent, and then 4.8 percent in 2016 when the non-compliance penalties of the ACA take effect.
“There is no question the HAP study shows there is significant upside to Pennsylvania’s participation in Medicaid expansion and very little downside,” Costa said. “The governor needs to understand we have a great opportunity and that expanding Medicaid is the right thing to do.”
The senators said that the HAP report only looked at economic benefits of the Gross Receipts Tax and the Personal Income Tax. It did not examine additional spinoff economic benefits or savings from offsets of state-funded programs that would result from the expansion.
A broader analysis by the Senate Democratic caucus concluded that 650,000 Pennsylvanians would gain access to health insurance through the Medicaid expansion, $670 million in new revenues would be generated, and $4 billion in federal monies would be leveraged.
The HAP report, “The Economic Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Pennsylvania,” was conducted by RAND Health, which is a research unit affiliated with the RAND Corporation.
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