Family Security

KEEPING FAITH WITH OUR VALUES

Part of helping families feel more secure involves looking at the budget and making key investments in programs that reflect our core values as a state.

Children’s health

In 2007 we made a bold commitment to provide every child in Washington with quality, comprehensive health coverage by 2010 by expanding eligibility for children’s health programs from 250 percent of the federal poverty level to 300 percent.

Now more than ever, Senate Democrats believe we cannot back away from this commitment. We will work with the House to move ahead with plans to extend coverage to 8,000 more kids at a time families need it the most.

 "When people lose their jobs, they lose their health care. We are also seeing an alarming number of middle class families facing health care insecurity because premiums for family coverage have become unaffordable to them. Keeping our commitment to Cover All Kids will at least allow families to protect their children."- Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent

General Assistance-Unemployable program

In this time of economic uncertainty, we need to keep our communities strong by keeping the safety net intact, because not protecting the most vulnerable among us leaves us all vulnerable.

The General Assistance-Unemployable program is a lifeline to thousands of Washingtonians who are physically and/or mentally incapacitated and unemployable. GA-U provides much needed cash and medical benefits to participants and represents our strong commitment to a strong safety net in our state. Cutting this program would negatively impact nearly 21,000 people. Senate Democrats are committed to keeping GA-U strong in the 2009-2011 biennium.

"Many mentally and physically challenged people are currently living one step up from the streets, thanks to the GA-U program. Morally, it doesn’t make sense to eliminate what, for many of these individuals, is their only means of support. For that reason alone, I don’t think Washingtonians would support that happening in their communities. But it doesn’t make fiscal sense either, since we’d only see more costs – financial, human and otherwise – elsewhere in the system." - Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane