(Oakland) – Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson (D-Oakland), fellow East Bay Lawmakers, local leaders, health care workers, and their patients gathered at Las Bougainvilleas Senior Housing in Oakland today to speak out against the Governor’s proposed budgetary cuts.  

“Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget plans will inflict irreparable harm on human service programs vital to many in California. This amounts to turning our backs on the elderly, the disabled, and the most vulnerable in our society. Such cuts are not only a bad moral decision, but a bad economic decision as well,” Assemblymember Swanson stated.

One program set to receive deep cuts is In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), which is set to be reduced by $266 million.  IHSS provides medical care to low-income, disabled and aged Californians in their homes, which allows them to avoid more expensive nursing home care.  The Governor’s planned cuts would result in reduced State reimbursement of wages for IHSS workers and lower hours of provided care, eliminating IHSS for an estimated 83,000 recipients.

“As Chair of the Assembly Labor & Employment Committee, I am concerned about the effect of the Governor’s proposed cuts on jobs in our state.  IHSS allows families to care for loved ones who need medical assistance, without jeopardizing their own ability to work,” Assemblymember Swanson said. “Furthermore, cuts to health services in general would force mass layoffs of health care workers. Such a move will further damage California’s economy at the absolute worst possible time,” he added.
 
The Governor’s proposal also includes a cut to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which many seniors depend on to remain independent and in their homes. Assemblymember Swanson and other Democratic leaders believe the proposed cut could drive large numbers of seniors out of their current homes, or force children to return home to take care of their parents, causing further economic disruption.

“At the end of the day, we have both an economic and a moral obligation to solve this budgetary crisis without balancing the budget on the backs of our must vulnerable citizens.  We in the Legislature call on the Governor to abandon these proposed cuts, and to work with us to craft a budget that solves our shortfall, while protecting the services that maintain quality of life, and allow so many families to continue working,” Assemblymember Swanson concluded.