Title
Authorizing the Committee on People with Disabilities & Special Needs to hold hearings regarding the consequences of potential additional cuts by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania General Assembly to mental health services, especially those offered in the City of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, The coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental health crisis, with daily instances of death, isolation and fear, in addition to economic precarity and housing security, among other related issues, generating widespread psychological trauma; and
WHEREAS, The state of mental health services in Pennsylvania was already precarious due to a persistent lack of federal and state government financing; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, during the administration of then-Governor Tom Corbett, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cut $84 million to counties for programs that serve people with intellectual disability, mental health challenges, and related needs, all unprotected by federal requirements - funding that has never been restored; and
WHEREAS, At the beginning of 2020, prior to COVID-19 being declared a pandemic, county officials statewide urged lawmakers to provide $42 million more than proposed, with three percent (3%) annual increases to achieve sustainability funding trajectory; and
WHEREAS, Because of the deadly, disastrous national leadership of the Trump administration, the ongoing pandemic, and the persistent economic downturn they cause leave Pennsylvania state government looking at up to $5 billion deficit at the end of this fiscal year, with no relief in sight due to opposition from the Republic-controlled U.S. Senate (although they have received several bills from the U.S. House of Representatives that would fund additional relief, including to individuals and municipal governments); and
WHEREAS, In the absence of fully safe economic activity or certainty about federal support, the General Assembly and Governor Wolf in June reached a partial compromise budget f...
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