For Immediate Release
July 21, 2005
Please Contact: Colin Durrant (617)722-1650 or
Dalié Jiménez, 617-722-1650

State House-July 21, 2005-By an overwhelming margin, state lawmakers voted to over-ride Governor’s Romney’s veto to cut funds for family shelters, teen pregnancy prevention and early education in this year’s state budget. With revenues exceeding expected forecasts, Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein and Representative Robert A. DeLeo, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the $23.9 billion budget reflected prudent steps to begin restoring programs hurt by budget cuts over the last three years.

The Revere legislators noted there are numerous other health initiatives included in the budget which stand to benefit programs utilized by nearly every member of the Revere community.

“Nearly every service we had for young children, families, single mothers and our elders suffered setbacks in the midst of the worst economic crisis in decades,” said Senate President Travaglini. “Now that we’ve turned the corner on the recession, we have an obligation to make these programs stronger and more accessible to the community.”

“This is about helping people who need it most, whether it’s stopping elder abuse, making health care more affordable, or supporting community programs,” said Senator Barrios.

“The fact that funding for our most vulnerable citizens was cut betrays a lack of understanding by the Administration of just how much some depend on us to provide the most basic necessities of life and education. Knowing their importance to Massachusetts and to the City of Revere, we made sure that these vetoes were some of the first to be overridden,” said DeLeo.

"I am pleased to find that the majority of services the state provides for our elders and children are finally increasing," commented Representative Reinstein. "The economy is on the rise and there is more revenue to aid these most critical programs."

The state budget which took effect July 1, 2005 includes:


• $500,000 earmark in the Distressed Provider Expendable Trust Fund for the Whidden Hospital and MGH-Revere, both of which serve Revere residents;

• $195,000 for the Logan Airport Health Study which will provide data on how communities such as Revere are affected by their proximity to a major airport.

• $1.2 million for a new Autism Division at the Department of Mental Retardation, which will result in additional support;

• $5.2 million in funding for the MassHealth Breast & Cervical Cancer program which will fully support a current enrolment totaling over 350 women;

• $16 million for the Healthy Start program which will serve over 6,500 women in the next fiscal year;

• $3.7 million to provide comprehensive dental coverage and smoking cessation assistance for pregnant women and mothers with children under the age of three. These measures are extremely important because they encourage healthy pregnancies and reduce incidences of premature/low-birth weight infants;

• $2 million increase in funding over last year for elder abuse and protective services to fully support the increased need and to eliminate any waiting list for these services aimed at protecting the Commonwealth’s elders from abuse and fraud;

• $2.4 million in additional funding for child support enforcement;

• An $879,000 or 100% increase in funding for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) program to ensure the continuation of over 100 SANE programs at 22 hospitals, and to reach approximately 400 more client requests than last year;

 

###