69 percent of people on welfare are either disabled or are older people. They think it's all unwed mothers with six kids, but it's not.
Vance gives York chamber luncheon unpopular information on welfare
Welfare's not what you think it is. All of that fat that you think is there to trim? It's not there, at least, not where you think.
Republican state Sen. Pat Vance said she knew she might not be the most popular woman in the room after conveying that message to the crowd at the York County Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Luncheon. She didn't seem to care, though.
This is the reason businesspeople turn out at the annual luncheon: to have legislators serve them the truth, as sweet and sour as the chicken sitting on plates in front of them.
She backed up her assertions with some statistics; 69 percent of people on welfare are either disabled or are older people who have spent themselves into a nursing home, she said.
"They don't want to hear it, but I'm going to keep telling it," she said after the engagement. "They think it's all unwed mothers with six kids, but it's not."
Lawmakers speak: Vance, who represents portions of York and Cumberland counties, chairs the Senate's Health and Human Services Committee and was one of eight legislators to speak on various topics during the forum.
Hundreds of businesspeople and community representatives attended the luncheon for updates on last year's legislative accomplishments and the coming year's challenges. The legislators' addresses are tailored to the business community.
Chamber member Mark Millen, campus president at YTI Career Institute, said he attended to hear about issues affecting the businesses with which the private school works to place recent graduates.
The school offers education in health-care professions, so he was interested in Vance's address, he said.
He said he was also in favor of the government efficiencies mentioned by Sen. Mike Waugh, R-Shrewsbury, who spoke about the state budget.
He said he hopes lawmakers continue to employ the "soul-searching" approach to spending they took during the recession, even as the economy improves in the coming years.
New majority whip Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township, also spoke about the budget. He said he's concerned state employees will strike after their contracts expire in July, and the legislature will need to find "little ways" to cut so it can prioritize spending. In contrast to Vance's position, he said $2 billion could be cut from welfare without affecting benefits.
Unemployment: Millen said he was also in support of legislation authored by Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York City, to ban cell phone use while driving.
DePasquale said he has heard many tragic stories about distracted drivers, and the bill, which has overwhelming bipartisan support, could come up for a vote this year.
Tim Norton, a chamber member and attorney at CGA Law Firm, said he supports possible changes to the state's unemployment-payment accountability discussed by Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus.
Miller, who chairs the House's Labor and Industry Committee, said Pennsylvania needs to implement a system that requires people on the unemployment rolls to search for jobs.
Norton, who practices in mostly employment and health-care litigation, said the county's CareerLink offices could require people to register for available jobs.
Some people stop looking for employment when they're receiving unemployment compensation checks, he said, though the state requires people to say they are "actively looking for employment" in order to be eligible for payments.
Reps. Seth Grove, R-Dover Township, Scott Perry, R-Dillsburg, and William Tallman, R-York and Adams counties, also spoke at the event.
-Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436, ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com, or follow her on Twitter at @dispatchbizwiz.
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