State Leaders Meet with Federal Partners on Health Reform Implementation, Funding Issues
WASHINGTON, DC – Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) today announced they have made significant progress in Washington D.C. this week on two key areas: promoting federal funding and policy changes to bolster California’s economy and help create jobs and ensuring health care reform is implemented in a way that maximizes benefits to California working families and small businesses.
“We’re back in Washington because we are working to create jobs, fix the budget and recover the economy,” Pérez said. “By partnering with the federal government, we have made progress on some key federal issues that will help the state budget. We’re also here to ensure that the largest state in the nation implements health care reform in a way that not only lowers costs for working families and small businesses, but also protects consumers from being denied coverage for pre-existing conditions.”
“The importance of this trip is enhanced by last week's bad revenue numbers,” Steinberg said. “The Obama Administration and congressional leaders understand the challenges we face. Our meetings have been productive and it is clear our partnership is stronger than ever and we will continue to work together to maintain vital services, expand health care, reduce our unemployment rate, and speed our economic recovery.”
Among those Steinberg and Pérez met with are: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations Cindy Mann, White House Office for Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann Min DeParle and White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Cecilia Muñoz.
Website of President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg: http://dist06.casen.govoffice.com
Website of Speaker John A. Pérez: www.asmdc.org/speaker
CONTACT: Shannon Murphy (Pérez) (916) 319-2408
Alicia Trost (Steinberg) (916) 651-4188
