State Senator Dan Debicella (R-21) has been appointed as the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee for the term that started on January 7th.
The Appropriations Committee is responsible for creating Connecticut’s two-year $36 billion budget. As Ranking Member, Debicella will be the lead Senate Republican in dealing with the $6 billion deficit facing Connecticut over that time period.
“Connecticut is being hit hard by the recession, and I am committed to eliminating our deficit without raising taxes,” said Senator Debicella. “We are going to need to change how government delivers its services in order to reduce spending in a responsible manner.”
Senator Debicella said, with the budget deficit equaling over 15% of the budget, there will be no single “magic bullet” to solve the deficit. “We need 10-20 ideas for how we can reinvent government,” said Senator Debicella. He added that he hopes the Appropriations Committee will explore a number of ideas he has proposed, including shifting social services from government to non-profit community providers, consolidating state departments and tightening the administration of Medicaid programs.
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R-28) appointed Senator Debicella to serve as Deputy Minority Leader in addition to his appointment as a Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee.
Senator McKinney said he believes that Senator Debicella will do an admirable job as a Senate Deputy Minority and in helping solve Connecticut’s budget crisis.
“Senator Debicella has proven himself to be a hard worker who is always able to find creative solutions to problems and offer innovative ideas for improving the quality of life in his district and across our state. I know he will do an outstanding job for Connecticut and for the people in his district,” said Senator McKinney, “The Appropriations Ranking Member position is high-level for someone in their second term in office, but I believe Dan is up for the task.”
Senator Debicella was also appointed by Senator McKinney to serve as Ranking Member on the Public Health Committee and Higher Education Committee, and to serve as a member of the Regulations Review Committee.
“Health care and education will always be among the issues that are most important to Connecticut residents, and we can find ways to improve them within the context of our budget,” said Senator Debicella.
Senator Debicella said he planned to revive his proposed Healthy Living Tax Credit legislation, which would allow families to deduct the cost of their medical bills from the state income tax if they receive all the preventative treatment (e.g., physicals, exams) prescribed by the American Medical Association.
“Offering tax credits for preventative medicine would not only save money, but would also save lives by catching heart disease and cancer earlier. Early detection increases survival rates, and costs a lot less money to treat,” said Senator Debicella. “Even though my proposal will cost a little in the short run, in the long run it could save upwards of $6 billion in Connecticut health care costs for the state and individuals if we could catch just 25% of cancer and heart disease cases early.”
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