At a news conference today, Rep. Eric Pettigrew and more than half a dozen advocates, shared the harsh realities of implementing the proposed cuts to the operating budget while expressing support for HB 2377. Pettigrew said that neglecting to fund vital services such as public health, health care for low-income families and long-term care services could be detrimental to our most vulnerable populations statewide.
“We can never underestimate the power of connecting these people with the services they need, in the way they need to receive them,” Pettigrew said when talking about potential cuts to adult day health care.
Nora Gibson, Executive Director of ElderHealth Northwest, spoke about the adverse consequences of cutting funding for an adult day health program in Oregon. The result was the death of twenty percent of the patients and a tremendous cost increase to move fifty percent of the remaining patients into a higher level of care.
Pettigrew said that the decisions made in our current proposed budget were made in the best interest of the people while utilizing what we currently have.
However, additional revenue is still needed to restore many of the programs that support the safety net. He said that by providing voters with an option to temporarily increase the sales tax, we can alleviate many of the devastating cuts and potential cost increases in the future.
As for the Working Families Tax Rebate, Washington would be the first state in the nation to implement this rebate while not collecting an income tax. Remy Trupin of the Budget & Policy Council said that this tax refund will benefit low-income and moderate-income families.
