GOP turns aside proposals to help war widows, seniors

For immediate release: Tuesday, March 21, 2006

CONTACT: John Kohlstrand (614) 466-9036

GOP turns aside proposals to help war widows, seniors

 Representative Michael J. Skindell said he was saddened to see Republicans refuse to allow an up-or-down vote on more than 20 Democratic proposals to help some of Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens, including the widows of servicemen killed in action.

 The Democratic amendments were tabled during a Monday night meeting of the House Finance & Appropriations Committee on House Bill 530, a budget correction bill expected to reach the House floor Wednesday.

 “These were common sense, fiscally-responsible proposals intended to help people,” said Skindell, ranking member of House Finance. “We missed some real opportunities here.”

 Skindell, D-Lakewood, said a few of the amendments would be offered again during floor debate on the budget correction bill.

 Skindell expressed particular disappointment that Republicans tabled a proposal from Rep. Peter Ujvagi of Toledo to offer college scholarships, through the War Orphans Scholarship Fund, to the spouses of servicemen and women killed in action while defending the United States.

 “Servicemen are already taking enough of a risk defending our country,” Skindell said. “They shouldn’t have to worry that their family won’t be able to make ends meet if they make the ultimate sacrifice.”

 In committee, Republicans also rejected an amendment from Skindell to exempt food from the new CAT tax. Similar legislation, sponsored by a majority of House members, is now gathering dust in a House committee.

 “For the first time since the Great Depression, Ohioans are now paying a secret tax on essentials like bread and milk,” said Skindell, the ranking Democrat on House Finance. “I believe most people see this tax is morally wrong.”

 In all, more than 20 amendments were tabled, generally along party lines without debate. Among them:

Education:

n       Restore $2.2 million in supplemental funding for Central State University and $422,859 in supplemental funding for Shawnee State University (offered by Rep. Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton).

n       Create a legislative study committee to determine how to replace revenue from tangible personal property tax (Brian G. Williams, D-Akron). School leaders fear what will happen in five years, when state government will no longer make school districts whole from the planned phase out of the tax.

n       Block the expansion of the school voucher program called for in H.B. 530 (Williams).

n       Limit the use of vouchers to schools that are meeting continuing improvement standards set by the Department of Education (William Hartnett, D-Mansfield)

n       Restore $187,000 for the Displaced Homemakers Program (Ujvagi), a program widely seen to pay for itself by helping poor women get college degrees and improve their earning power.

Consumer protection:

n       Restore the call center at the Office of Consumer Counsel (Ujvagi). The call center’s elimination in the last state budget bill has forced consumers to lodge more of their concerns with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which is widely seen as less sympathetic.

Seniors:

n       Devote an additional $9 million toward adult protective services programs that help protect senior citizens from abuse and neglect. (Rep. Dan Stewart, D-Columbus)

n       Reduce waiting lists for the PASSPORT program by devoting an additional $500,000 to the program (Rep. Kathleen Chandler, D-Kent). PASSPORT helps seniors and saves state money by helping senior stay in their own homes rather than being moved to nursing facilities.

Criminal justice:

n       Create an additional judgeship in Summit County (Williams). House Republicans have refused to act on a bipartisan Senate bill that would create the judgeship because of opposition from Summit County GOP chairman Alex Arshinkoff.

Fiscal discipline:

n       Require most state departments and agencies to engage in performance budgeting and conduct performance audits to ensure scarce public tax dollars are being used effectively in ways that best move Ohio forward. (Strahorn)

n       Require residents from other states that do not levy a sales tax on motor vehicles to pay Ohio’s sales tax on vehicles purchased in Ohio (Skindell). Rep. Mike Mitchell, D-Columbus, has a similar bill gathering dust in committee.

Health care:

n       Block potential state budget cuts in H.B. 530 to free clinics (Sykes)

n       Expand eligibility for health care services for poor pregnant women by devoting an additional $6.7 million to prenatal care (Rep. Tyrone Yates, D-Cincinnati).

n       Devote an additional $846,000 to flu vaccinations for the poor and elderly (Skindell). As the price of flu shots has risen, the number of shots purchased by the state has fallen in recent years.

Poverty:

n       Devote an additional $25 million in TANF funds to the HEAP program that helps the poor and elderly with heating costs. (Stewart)

n       Devote $14 million more to food pantries by expanding the Ohio Food Program and Ohio Agricultural Surplus Production Alliance (Rep. Barbara J. Sykes, D-Akron).

Collective bargaining:

n       Block a union busting provision of H.B. 530 that would transfer employees from the state auditor’s office to the governor’s Office of Budget and Management, where they could no longer be represented by a union. (Sykes)

n       Allow the transfer, but permit the employees to retain union representation. (Sykes)

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