On the recordAugust 5, 2010
I wish to thank my colleagues from Maine, Senator Olympia Snowe and Senator Susan Collins, for their courageous support of this measure. I would like to take a moment to talk about the critically important component of the legislation we will be voting on shortly. That component is called the local share language that will send critical aid directly to county governments in any State. The counties in my State are always worried. When we send the money to Albany, they never see it or they see it much later and Albany takes a cut. But legislation that I have been able to put into the bill says: If the local area pays for part of Medicaid, then they should be reimbursed directly. Anyone who is familiar with New York knows we have some of the highest property taxes in the Nation, way too high. In fact, residents in West Chester County have the unfortunate distinction of having paid the most in property taxes in the entire country. Nassau County residents follow quickly. On the list of the top 20 counties with the highest property taxes, 5 are in New York.
