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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Hearing wraps up; Heider says message was ‘loud and clear’

Senate Health & Welfare Chairman Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, said at 10 a.m. that this morning’s public hearing is “really out of time.” More than 30 people spoke at today’s hearing; at least 75 had signed up in hopes of testifying.

“It’s clear that our citizens are certainly suffering in some areas,” said House Health & Welfare Chairman Fred Wood. “Some areas … present issues of economics, but obviously there’s one area that we heard loud and clear today that probably doesn’t really come to the forefront of economics, and that is the foster care system. There is a significant piece of legislation that is being (prepared) that will come forward on this subject.”

Wood said, “I want to thank all of you for coming today. Every one of you showed up here with honest intentions, and we get that, and we also get that your emotions are heartfelt, and they’re heartfelt up here too. We will do the best we can. I’m sure it’s going to fall short in a lot of your own minds, but we certainly are paying attention to you and we certainly will try our best.” He said he and Heider will convey the concerns they heard at the hearing when they make recommendations to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee about Health & Welfare budget decisions for next year.

Heider told the crowd, “You may think we’re heartless sometimes – we’re really not. We have a great deal of love for every person on in the state of Idaho. We represent the people of Idaho. You’re the ones that elect us. ... We do appreciate your stories today, your heartfelt concerns.”

Afterward, Heider said, “We have issues in this state when it comes to health and welfare. We’re trying to solve those issues. We can’t solve them all at once; we’ve got to set some priorities. Obviously Medicaid expansion is a priority.” He said lawmakers are watching to see what happens with the governor’s PCAP proposal “We’re not deaf. We hear loud and clear what the people of Idaho are saying,” he said, “and we want to move forward with something this session.”



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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