Wiggins asks Senate to divert savings to veterans

By Lake County News Editor-SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) is requesting that some of the funds saved through recent Senate cost-cutting measures be diverted to offset proposed fee increases for veteran residents of California’s veterans homes.

In light of the current state budget crisis, lawmakers are considering legislation to raise the fees veterans pay toward the cost of their care at the homes, enough to relieve the state’s general fund of a $2,750,000 obligation.

     Also because of the crisis, the Senate recently moved to reduce Senate member and Senate staff salaries and benefits, actions which will save an estimated $3.5 million in state spending.

In a June 29 letter to Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), Wiggins asked that the Senate divert $2.75 million of the $3.5 million so that the veterans can be spared from having to pay the higher fees.

In her letter to the Senate leader, Wiggins wrote, “As the Senate Rules Committee considers which general fund-supported agencies will receive the money from these savings, I would like to suggest a worthy constituency to receive some of these funds, where this small amount will make a real difference in the lives of the individuals affected.

“Our veterans have already paid their dues to our country,” she added. “These elderly and often frail and infirm veterans depend on our state’s veterans’ homes as their only alternative in their senior years. Their courage and sacrifice in protecting our country and our freedoms deserve our highest respect. We should be sure that the veterans receive the services they deserve and we should fulfill our obligations to them.”

The Assembly, which instituted its own cost-cutting measures to the tune of $10 million, previously shifted those funds over to the state Employment Development Department which, among other things, offers assistance to California workers who have been laid off from their jobs.