2007 house journal index of days - Maryland General Assembly

270 Journal of Proceedings Jan. 31, 2007
And we will quickly secure a professional and expert assessment of Maryland’s true level
of homeland security and emergency preparedness, so we can begin to produce the
security deliverables that our people’s safety demands;
• We will pursue the cooperation of our neighbors in the District of Columbia and
Virginia – and our respective congressional delegations – to secure an expanded federal
definition of the National Capital Region for homeland security purposes; and
• I have directed our Transportation Secretary to formulate a plan of action that will lead
to the Port of Baltimore becoming the best inspected and most secure port in the United
States.
Expanding Opportunity
Today, we compete economically as never before on a global and faster track. In a very
real way, our economic security and competitiveness as a State depends on our ability to
expand greater opportunities to greater numbers of our citizens.
Having already touched on our agenda for greater learning and earning opportunities, let
us turn to the agenda we share for progress on healthcare and our environment.
Health Care
In order to begin to turn around the alarming healthcare trend of rising costs and a rising
number of uninsured Marylanders every year, I ask that you pass the Maryland
Healthcare Act. Among other things the act will:
• Create a Health Insurance Exchange to help small businesses find more affordable
coverage for their employees – on a pre-tax basis.
• It will require insurance companies to allow younger adults up to age 25 to be covered
under their parents’ policies.
• And it will also provide healthcare coverage to more children in our state.
I also ask for your support for several other initiatives in this year’s proposed budget:
• $25 million for Stem Cell research – a 66% increase over last year’s appropriation.
• The restoration of Medicaid healthcare benefits to legal immigrant families, including
3,000 children.
• And over $100 million to strengthen our provider systems by increasing reimbursement
rates for doctors participating in our State’s Medicaid Program.