Westmoreland Review

Throughout June and July, while the 2024-25 budget was being finalized, Rep. Jill Cooper (R-Westmoreland) expressed her concerns regarding the allocation of funds to address priorities shared by constituents in the 55th Legislative District.

Despite some priorities being included, such as education and public safety, Rep. Cooper voted against the budget due to perceived overspending on new programs at the expense of others. One notable example is a freeze on funding for county Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), which a bill she recently co-sponsored aims to address.

The Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging receives allocations from Harrisburg through a specific budget line item called PennCARE. This funding supports services including home-delivered meals, personal care, transportation, community senior centers, and assistance for victims of abuse, neglect, abandonment, and financial exploitation of older adults across Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

In 2023-24, PennCARE was funded at $287.8 million. Governor Josh Shapiro's initial 2024-25 budget proposal suggested increasing this by over $15 million—$10 million for AAA networks and $5 million for additional senior housing options. However, the final 2024-25 budget plan, totaling $47.6 billion (nearly $3 billion more than the previous year), did not include this increase.

Rep. Cooper stated: "I cannot explain at which point the administration agreed to freeze the funding at last year’s amount." She highlighted that this comes when seniors are particularly vulnerable due to rising costs of groceries and utilities.

The freeze on PennCARE funding could lead to reductions or eliminations of services and potential waiting lists. Senior centers also face inflation rates similar to those affecting Pennsylvania families and rely on AAAs for continued service provision.

To address this issue without impacting taxpayers, Rep. Cooper co-sponsored a bill proposing to transfer $15 million from the Lottery Fund to PennCARE.

"The generations that preceded us were small business owners, manufacturers, farmers and police officers," said Rep. Cooper. "When a Pennsylvanian retires from their craft... they deserve to know that the services they helped fund... will be there for them when they are most in need."

Additionally, Rep. Cooper announced a town hall event focused on power surges in Slickville on October 10 at 6 p.m., hosted at Slickville Volunteer Fire Department.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency reminded citizens that texting 911 is now available statewide—a crucial service for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing or find themselves in situations where calling is unsafe.

Lastly, as Child Passenger Safety Week concludes, parents are reminded about proper child restraint in vehicles due to car crashes being a leading cause of death among children under age 13 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.