auree

ingrich

State Representative

101

Legislative District

STATE REPRESENTATIVE MAUREE GINGRICH’S OFFICES ARE HERE TO SERVE YOU….

District Office: 445 W. Penn Avenue, Cleona Square, Cleona, PA 17042, (717) 270-1905 Harrisburg Office: 430 Irvis Office Building, PO Box 202101, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2101(717) 783-1815 Office Hours: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Web site: RepGingrich.com E-mail: mgingric@pahousegop.com

Dear Neighbor,

RepGingrich.com

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We are certainly ready for thechange of season and all theactivity that accompanies better weather. After the winter’s heavysnow and cold, we can look aheadto warmer temperatures, the ener-gizing effect of sunshine and moretime outdoors.Also on the positive side of life,the economy is showing signs of improvement with projections for greater stability ahead. However,as members of the Legislature,we have a responsibility to craft abudget bill for 2010-11 that is bothfeasible and sustainable and basedon real revenue projections.Pennsylvania taxpayers haveendured job losses and limitedinvestment interest while their per-sonal expenses continued to rise.Additional tax increases would bean unacceptable burden on thepeople of Pennsylvania.I am honored to serve the citi-zens of the 101st District and willremain committed to protecting our quality of life, personal choices andour pocketbooks in the LebanonValley.

Proposed State Budget IncreasesSpending in Down Economy

In February, the governor announced his 2010-11 budget. The state’s shareof his $29 billion plan is smaller than last year, but the overall spend number is$1.2 billion or about 4 percent more than the current ﬁscal year budget. One of the reasons for the increase is the availability of federal stimulus money.This budget assumes an infusion of about $800 million from the federalgovernment. However, stimulus funding is a short-term ﬁx that will soon dry up.When the state increases funding or otherwise expands entitlement programs,it raises the amount that the state becomes obligated to pay in future budgets.Stimulus funding creates a false sense of security that will disappear as quicklyas the funding will, unless we plan accordingly.The budget also assumes that $92.5 million in revenue will be generatedthrough table games and an additional $180 million will come through leasingmore state land for drilling in Marcellus shale. The proposed budget also assumes$472 million in additional revenue from the tolling of Interstate 80. While all of thisfunding is speculative, the tolling of I-80 is perhaps the least certain. The federalgovernment has already struck down the state’s request to toll I-80 and the Com-monwealth is currently awaiting a response on a request for reconsideration.The state is already facing a $525 million shortfall in the current year. We needto search for ways to cut spending and to prepare for a future in which stimulusfunding will not be available.The governor’s plan calls for higher spending in each of the following areas:

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Education – $355 million increase

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Corrections – $137 million increase

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Public Welfare – $388 million increase

Several line items previously included in the welfare budget are to be trans-ferred to the proposed Department of Aging and Long Term Living, now known asthe Department of Aging. This change would mask the degree to which welfarespending is actually increasing.Our slumping economy and lagging revenue collections are increasing thenecessity for the state’s leaders to carefully consider the ﬁnancial facts beforeus and make some tough choices. Now is the time to cut unnecessary spendingand prepare for what may well be a rough road ahead.

Citizens Air Concerns atConstituent Breakfasts

Thanks to all of you who turned out for our recent series of constituent breakfasts. These meetings give me an opportunity to hear directly from you so I can better represent you in Harrisburg. At recent gatherings in Annville and Palmyra (pictured here), many expressed concern over the potential for gridlock and another state budget impasse. Others stated concern over taxes and needed improvementsto the streets and sidewalks in our legislative district.

SPRING 2010

The PotentialImpact of UniversalHealth Careon You

The Federal Health Care Reformplan being debated in Congress is notwhat Pennsylvanians need. In fact, theneeds of our citizens vary signiﬁcantly.A one-size-ﬁts-all approach to healthcare will not satisfy the challenges weface among the uninsured population inthis Commonwealth, nor will it addressthe needs of our small businesses.Universal systems limit an individ-ual’s medical choices by restrictingthem to the options included in thegovernment plan, and it would requirethem to pay out of pocket for optionsnot included. Some aspects of theplan even prohibit access to servicesnot covered, or denied by the govern-ment-run plan.I believe the best option for con-sumers is a health care system thatremains in the private marketplacewith consumer choice and competitivepricing through interstate competitionamong insurers. It is also critical thatwe take action to pass medical mal-practice reform and a community ratingsystem to control costs and to keepphysicians from leaving Pennsylvaniafor states where frivolous lawsuits arediscouraged and medical malpracticeawards are capped.Our health care is too importantto leave to government. Let’s keepthe power of choice where it belongs – with you.

Electronic Newsletter -Convenient, Cost Effective

As your state representative, it is important for me to communicateregularly about my activities on your behalf in the state Legislature. Indoing so, I continually explore more cost-effective ways of communica-tion. One way is by delivering my newsletter to you electronically

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bye-mail and via my Web site at

RepGingrich.com.

It’s convenient andcost-effective.For those of you who wish to receive a printed copy of my newslet-ter, I have a limited number of copies available in my district ofﬁce at445 West Penn Ave. in Cleona.

More than 300,000 PennsylvaniansHave Been Helpedby the Partnership forPrescription Assistance

At a time when millions of patients are uninsured and having dif-ficulty obtaining the medicines they need, America’s pharmaceuticalresearch and biotechnology companies are stepping up their efforts tohelp patients all over the country through the Partnership for Prescrip-tion Assistance (PPA).The PPA, so far, has helped more than six million Americans, includ-ing nearly 310,000 Pennsylvania patients, find assistance programsthat might be able to help them. A single point of access to more than475 programs, the PPA includes nearly 200 programs sponsored bybiopharmaceutical companies. These are operations that provide free or nearly free medicines to uninsured patients and those who are strugglingfinancially. The PPA is an easy system to use and it generally requiresonly 15 minutes before patients find out if they may qualify for help.To do so, they can call a toll-free 1-888-477-2669 or, on the Web,go to

pparx.org

. Operators who speak about 150 languages work withpatients who call the telephone number.PPA assistance programs offer more than 2,500 brand-name andgeneric medicines for free or nearly free and more than 40 of the pro-grams focus on the medication and health care needs of children. ThePPA also provides information on nearly 10,000 free health care clinicsaround the country and has connected hundreds of thousands of patientswith clinics or local health care providers.Patients who contact the PPA are not charged for being matched withany of the 475 assistance programs. The service is free with all of thecosts being paid by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturersof America and its member companies.

Sexting: The Subject of Town Hall Meeting in Lebanon

The Sexual Assault Resource Counseling Center (SARCC) will hold a town hall meetingin which I will participate in a panel discussion on teen sexting. The public is encouraged toattend the event at

Lebanon High School at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 20.

For More Information Visit RepGingrich.com Today!

Welfare Reform a Slow Process,but Progress is Being Made

I have taken a leadership role in efforts to reform the state’s welfare system to prevent fraud and abuse. Thewelfare budget accounts for more than one-third of the entire state budget. As a member of the House Appropria-tions Committee and co-chair of the Republican Welfare Efficiency Task Force, I believe significant savings may beachieved by closing loopholes to ensure the integrity of the welfare system.An amendment to the welfare code bill requires an employee of a county assistance office to report suspectedwelfare fraud directly to the state inspector general for immediate review. This legislation will enhance our abilityto fight welfare fraud where it starts. Employees of county assistance offices are in the communities and are morefamiliar with those who receive state benefits. By giving them a mechanism by which to report suspected abuse of the welfare system without fear of retribution, we significantly improve our ability to identify those who are committingfraud against the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.If an employee of a county assistance office has reason to believe a recipient or applicant for public assistanceis committing fraud, he or she shall report the fraud directly to the Office of Inspector General. Reports will also bemade when a recipient or applicant provides false information to receive public assistance benefits such as MedicalAssistance, cash assistance or food stamps.A recent report by state Auditor General Jack Wagner backs up claims by House Republicans that wide spreadfraud and abuse is indeed occurring in the state’s welfare system. Wagner has so far uncovered more than $600million in losses to fraud. In fact, 12 people, including nine Department of Public Welfare employees, were arrestedon charges they stole $500,000 from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which providesheating assistance to low-income people.I introduced legislation to establish a computerized Income Eligibility Verification System to determine whether applicants for public assistance are eligible for the benefits they are claiming. The Income Eligibility Verification billand another to establish a photo ID for cash assistance were not considered by the Democrat-controlled House.It is frustrating to be denied the opportunity to improve an egregious situation that has a significant impact on our state budget and your tax dollars. These are commonsense measures that would make a big difference to taxpayers.I assure you that the fight for meaningful reform is far from over.

Law Needed to Protect Teens in Sexting Cases

Legislation would establish appropriate penalties for juvenile offenders

There are currently no laws that address teen sexting – the sending of nude or lewd photos via cell phone.Sexting by teens is on the rise and it is illegal. Yet, the only law that addresses it is a felony charge used incases of sexual abuse of children.While sexting is a crime that should be punished, I believe it is wrong to charge people between the ages of 13 and 17 with a felony that will give them a permanent criminal record and scar them for life. Instead, we needa law that speciﬁcally addresses teen offenders in which the punishment ﬁts the crime.I am co-sponsoring House Bill 2189, which would make sexting by teens a summary offense. Sexting ispotentially devastating to teenagers who take nude photos of themselves and fail to consider their inability tocontrol those images once they hit “send.” Likewise, they fail to anticipate the devastating consequences that canfollow when those who receivethe images share them.Lebanon County District At-torney Dave Arnold attended arecent Capitol news conferencein which he and the state DistrictAttorneys Association endorsedthe legislation I am co-sponsor-ing. HB 2189 would providelaw enforcement with the toolsnecessary to punish and deter sexting while affording teens be-tween the ages of 13 and 17 theopportunity to have their criminalrecord expunged. The bill is cur-rently pending in the House.