Who does Santorum represent?
It seems to us that U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum cares more about the people of Texas and California than the Pennsylvanians who voted him in to office. He also does not trust his own state. This became evident when Pennsylvania’s own senator worked to defeat federal legislation that would give a boost to the commonwealth’s prescription drug programs for senior citizens, PACE and PACENET. Sen. Santorum said he voted against the bill because of the “potential for mischief with respect to double dipping.” We respectfully disagree with the senator’s misguided position and outright distrust of his home state. Pennsylvania is one of the only 13 states in the nation that provides some kind of prescription drug benefits to low- and moderate-income senior citizens. And it is one of only three states that would qualify for the provision Sen. Santorum voted against. Under the plan, Pennsylvania would receive subsidies equal to what the federal government would pay for seniors in other states. Since PACE is funded solely by the state lottery, the new federal funds would not correspond to “double dipping.”
It is widely recognized that PACE and PACENET are model prescription drug benefit programs. And the commonwealth has acted cautiously over the years, almost too cautiously in our view, to make sure the programs remain solvent.
About two weeks ago, Pennsylvania House lawmakers unanimously approved legislation authored in part by Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, to provide prescription drug assistance to an additional 100,000 senior citizens by using a mix of new lottery revenues and innovative cost containment measures. The measure represents the largest expansion of PACE in 19 years. So while other states like Texas and California are willing to wait out an inferior prescription drug plan from the federal government, Pennsylvania is working aggressively to keep its senior citizens healthy by providing the most comprehensive program possible. Sen. Santorum is seeking to punish his own state for trying to help more seniors pay for their life-saving prescription medications.
While the measure Sen. Santorum is working against ultimately passed the U.S. Senate, its fate remains to be seen as each chamber of Congress works in conference committee to cobble a final plan to provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare recipients. Sen. Santorum is among the congressional leaders who will help craft the final legislation and he pledged to try to remove the provisions which favor Pennsylvania. We encourage him to stop working against Pennsylvanians and start working for the people who sent him to Washington, D.C.
Rep. Bill DeWeese
House Minority Leader
Waynesburg
Character is real equalizer
Your editorial page is always wonderfully informative but a recent edition was particularly important to all Americans.
Concerned citizens need to do something to express their feelings on Ted Kennedy’s Hate Crime Bill to our two senators and our U.S. representative.
You hit the nail squarely on the head “all crime is crime” and should be treated equally and swiftly according to our statutes regarding its severity. It seems that many Afro-Americans either are playing the race card for preferential treatment or admitting to an inability to measure up to normal average American standards.
Either position is disgusting and doing them no favors if they want to be treated equally before the law and in society in general. Sure I see differences physically in everyone including supposedly identical twins, but what I judge a person on is character. That’s the real equalizer and it is available equally to all of mankind.
Ed Rinkhoff Jr.
Smock