Caregiving Takes Center Stage at Capitol

It didn’t feel like the beginning of autumn outside this week, as temperatures hit the 80 degree mark in Harrisburg.  It didn’t feel like fall in Pennsylvania’s Capitol either – instead, there was a distinct June atmosphere, as numerous rallies took place in the rotunda and lawmakers continued to debate the state budget.

Caregiving Takes Center Stage

One of the rallies (and the largest, I’m selfishly proud to say) was the AARP Pennsylvania event to bring attention to the needs of family caregivers and to urge the Pennsylvania Senate to pass House Bill 1329, the Caregiving Advise, Record, and Enable (CARE) Act which has already been approved by the State House of Representatives.  AARP Pennsylvania volunteer State President Jim Palmquist and State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh were joined by Hospital and Healthcare Association of Pennsylvania CEO Andy Carter, State Representatives Tim Hennessey and Hal English, and Secretary of Aging Teresa Osborne to talk about the legislation and the benefits that family caregivers bring to the Commonwealth.

But the highlight of the rally was the testimonial from AARP PA volunteer Tamesha Keel of Carlisle, who described her experience as the caregiver for her late mother, highlighting the joys and difficulties of such a responsibility.  No one in the audience, which consisted of 150 AARP volunteers from across the state plus reporters and legislators and their staffs, was unmoved by Tamesha’s remarks.

After the rally, the AARP volunteers stopped by the offices of all 50 State Senators to drop off materials about House Bill 1329 and discuss the importance of family caregivers.

State Budget and Attorney General update

Regular readers of this feature know that the attention of those that follow state government in Harrisburg has been consumed by two things this summer – the debate about the state budget, now almost three months late, and the ongoing saga of the indictment of Attorney General Kathleen Kane.  This week saw the final passage in the House of Representatives (after passage of the same bills in the Senate last week) of legislation to provide temporary state funding to service providers and school districts.  Governor Wolf, however, has vowed to veto this legislation, as he insists that a temporary spending measure such as this would halt progress on negotiating a full-year budget.  The next steps after the veto are….unknown at this point.

Meanwhile, the State Supreme Court has temporarily suspended the law license of Attorney General Kane, but pointedly noted this action was not intended as a mandate for her removal from office.  The Attorney General continues to maintain her innocence and has promised more revelations of why she feels charges were brought against her.  Expect more fireworks over the next few weeks.

Curious about those other issues being discussed in the Capitol?

As was mentioned earlier, Tuesday was a busy day at the State Capitol.  The Capitol rotunda serves as a “public square” for groups hoping to bring the attention of lawmakers, the media and other Pennsylvanians to their issue.  After AARP focused on family caregiving, other groups discussed such wildly divergent issues as the affordability of diapers, the need for legislation legalizing medical marijuana, the new procedure for registering to vote on line, and the importance of screening for prostate cancer.  Sometimes it’s easy for those in Harrisburg to dismiss these events, but for the participants that care deeply about these issues, the opportunity to bring their concerns to the State Capitol and get the attention of their elected officials is a critical part of our democratic system.

“Ray’s Round Up” features updates on current state and federal issues by Ray Landis, AARP PA’s Advocacy Manager.