By extending unemployment benefits for 2.5 million out-of-work Americans, Congress has demonstrated that they are indeed capable of acting like the big boys and girls we elected them to be.

Now how about taking this new-found maturity a step further by passing an extension of Medicaid to the states?

Without the $112 billion extension of the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) that’s set to expire in December, 30 states that built the anticipated funding into their budgets will face financial calamity. Pennsylvania’s FMAP share represents $850 million in its $28 billion budget.

Imagine the General Assembly’s trying to fill that hole without drastic cuts in services and jobs!

By extending FMAP, Congress can kill two birds with one stone by giving the rest of the country a break during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and possibly chipping away at its current record-high 50 percent “no-confidence” rating in the latest Gallup poll.

We know you can do it. Leadership awaits.

The Philadelphia Daily News  – August 2, 2010 – Read article online