From the Pennsylvania Health Access Network (http://www.pahealthaccess.org):
On Wednesday afternoon, HB 33, the bill that would eliminate General Assistance, passed the PA Senate and is now on Governor Wolf’s desk. If Governor Wolf signs the bill into law, General Assistance can end as early as August 1st.
As a reminder, GA is a critical program that helps people with disabilities, people fleeing domestic violence, and people in treatment for substance use disorders meet their most basic needs and – often- stay in their homes and out of a crisis situation. In the past week, the General Assembly attached key amendments to HB 33 that were necessary in order to pass the budget. This is wrong, and we are outraged that the General Assembly would risk the wellbeing of vulnerable Pennsylvanians by playing political games.
During the debate on the Senate floor, attempts to introduce amendments and support the program were shut down, and Democratic Senators walked out in protest. After more heated debate HB 33 passed by a vote of 26-24.
In light of what happened with the vote, can you please take a few minutes to call your Senator and either thank them for standing up for GA, or let them know how disappointed we are in their vote? Find the list of how each Senator voted at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2019&sess_ind=0&rc_body=S&rc_nbr=203. Call this toll-free number to be connected to your State Senator: 833-730-5882. Thanks to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center for setting this up! If you aren’t sure who your Senator is, go to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/index.cfm#address – and you can find direct dial information for their offices here as well.
Please stay tuned for further updates and next steps and, as always, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you have.
Thank you so much for all of your advocacy efforts to protect GA. We would not have gotten this far without you!
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