Assembly Approves Comprehensive Women's Health Agenda
Silver And Bruno Announce Joint Conference Committee To Reach Two-House Women's Health Agreement

     Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver praised his Assembly colleagues for passing legislation aimed at improving access to vital health services for New York State women.

     The cornerstone of the agenda is the "Women's Health and Wellness Act" that encourages early detection and prevention of health and medical conditions affecting women, such as breast and cervical cancer and osteoporosis, as well as prescription contraception.

     "For the past three years, the Assembly Majority has pushed for the enactment of legislation to promote women's health issues through sound preventative measures," said Silver. "This comprehensive agenda seeks to provide the best health care services to the greatest number of women in this state."

     "Unless we eliminate the financial barriers which cause women to defer or delay crucial diagnostic screenings, women's health will be jeopardized," said Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, who Silver credited for her steadfast and ongoing efforts to increase awareness of women's health issues and improve health-care access for New York's women.

     Silver and Glick were joined at the Capitol news conference by Assembly members Susan John and Ann Margaret Carrozza, Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried and Insurance Committee Chair Alexander "Pete" Grannis and the Task Force on Women's Issues Chair Joan Millman.

     Major provisions of the Assembly package include measures that would require health insurers to provide coverage for the screening and treatment of osteoporosis (A.2006,Glick); remove deductibles or co-payments for mammography screenings and cervical cytology screenings (A.2006, Glick); require insurance coverage for annual mammography screenings for all women more than 40 years-old (A.2004,Carrozza); require all health-insurance policies that provide prescription drug coverage to include contraceptives (A.2002,John); and extend health-insurance coverage for mammography and cervical cytology screenings to multi-state policies (A.2006,Glick).

     Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno agreed to convene a joint conference committee to resolve differences in legislation each house has passed.

     "We believe the Senate has taken a first step toward ensuring all women in our state have access to critical health-care services," Silver said. "We will now meet to air our differences in an open, public conference committee as we move to enact this important measure this year."

Assembly Pushes For Restorations Of Pre-K Funding

     Silver continued his criticism of Governor George Pataki's budget for cutting $275 million from the state's obligation to fund universal pre-kindergarten with visits to two highly successful pre-K programs in Syracuse and Brooklyn.

     "The fundamental benefits of Pre-K are both significant and well-documented. That is why we must make the necessary investments that will provide great returns for our state's students, families and communities," said Silver, a long-time proponent of universal pre-K. At events in Syracuse and Brooklyn, Silver joined with children, parents, teachers and community leaders to express support for universal pre-K, stressing the positive impact it has on a child's learning abilities.

     In addition to the speaker, local members of the Assembly and representatives of the Emergency Coalition to Save Universal pre-K also participated in the news conference to show their support for the Assembly's effort to restore pre-K funding in the state budget.

     "Unfortunately, the governor's budget fails to recognize the needs of our state's children and reneges on our commitment to ensure that pre-K is available throughout New York," said Silver. "We shouldn't have this annual battle with the governor for the budget funding he agreed to three years ago."

     "Across the state, there are existing pre-K programs, like those in Syracuse and Brooklyn, that worry if state funds will be there. Other school districts remain on the pre-K sidelines because it's too risky for them to make the investment. They can't trust the state to make good on its commitment to four-year-olds. This shouldn't be. The learning benefits and opportunities for children are too great to squander away on budget politics," said Silver.

     Silver visited the Salvation Army's Cab Horse Child Care Center, funded by the Syracuse School District, and the Brooklyn Middle School 394 Early Childhood Center. Last month, Silver and Assembly colleagues toured the pre-K program at the Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology in Albany in support of the early-childhood learning initiative.

Assembly Holds Public Hearing On Proposed NiMo And National Grid Merger
Syracuse Hearing Also Examined Rising Electric And Natural Gas Rates And Their Impact On Consumers

     Silver and Energy Committee Chairman Paul Tonko took testimony at an Assembly public hearing in Syracuse on the skyrocketing electric and natural gas rates of Niagara Mohawk (NiMo) and their impact on customers and the upstate economy.

     Silver and Tonko were joined by Syracuse area Assembly Majority members William Magnarelli and Joan Christensen and others, including Susan John (Rochester) and RoAnn Destito (Utica). The hearing also examined the proposed sale of the Syracuse-based NiMo to National Grid Group PLC and its effect on future energy prices and the company's employees.