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Healthcare
access.
Restoring
HUSKY.
Another
important item in the budget that was approved is
the full restoration of the HUSKY-for-parents
program. This health plan is the only health
insurance available to many thousands of people -
mostly working parents. HUSKY is the
healthcare plan for 15,000 New Britain residents and
1,400 Newington residents.
Prescription
Coverage:
I
am happy to report that I voted to approve new
legislation that will ensure that seniors and
persons with disabilities who have ConnPACE will not
be forced to pay more for their medications as a
result of the new federal prescription law. But more
still needs to be done to ensure that prescription
medications are affordable for everyone, and I will
continue my work for this.
Expanding
health coverage:
I
was proud to have been a supporter of a major piece
of legislation that would help to expand
health coverage in our state and save money for
taxpayers. The legislation addresses the
problem that certain large, profitable corporations
fail to provide health insurance to their workers.
This
plan is designed to allow these companies to obtain
HUSKY health insurance for their workers and require
profitable companies to contribute to expanding
healthcare coverage.
This
bold initiative went much farther in the legislative
process this year than anyone expected. For
me, this shows, all the more, the need for this
legislation to expand healthcare coverage in our
state. I will be working very hard to pass
this bill next year.
Click
here to read more about this legislation.
Minimum
Wage.
I am
proud of voting to increase the minimum wage. This
was something I have been pressing for since I was first
elected. The legislation that was approved by the
legislature will increase the State's minimum wage from
the current $7.10 to $7.40 on January 1, 2006 and to $7.65
on January 1, 2007. By January 1, 2006, it will have
been two years since the minimum wage was increased, so
this increase will be important to ensure that the wages
of lowest paid workers in the state keep up with
inflation.
I
believe that people who work for a living should be able
to take home a decent paycheck to their families.
Even at $7.65, it is hard to provide for a family, but
increasing the minimum is the right thing to do.
A
compromise budget:
The
budget that was passed this year was a compromise between
the legislature and the governor. I and other
Democrats in the legislature had been supporting a
proposal that would have included more property tax relief
and more education funding than the budget that was
passed. Gov. Rell insisted on less.
Click
here to see a comparison of the budget plan I was
supporting and Gov. Rell's proposal.
Property
Tax Reform.
This
year, the property tax reform plan I wrote was
co-sponsored by 45 legislators. Even with so much
support, it remains a difficult challenge to pass
comprehensive property tax reform in the "Land of
Steady Habits". I was disappointed that the
legislature's Finance Committee - which deals with tax law
- did not pass legislation addressing the property tax
system. I have been assured that property tax reform
will be a major issue in the 2006 legislative session, and
I will continue pressing for reform until the unfairness
of property taxes is removed from our state's tax system.
Click
here to read more about the comprehensive property tax
reform legislation that I wrote. |
