"There is no longer the time or room for legislators who support this bill in theory, but fear political consequences, to sit back and hope someone else will shepherd this funding through," Weinberg said. "We need to corral every vote possible to ensure that the health of low-income women throughout this state is not a casualty of political ideologies."
After Christie, citing fiscal constraints, eliminated state aid to the health centers in his first budget, the Legislature restored the $7.5 million. The governor vetoed the restoration, again citing a lack of funding and adding that the same services were available through clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers.
The Senate approved the restoration with enough votes to override a veto, but six of the seven Republicans who voted in favor say they now believe the money simply is not available. A seventh, Sen. Jennifer Beck of Monmouth County, is traveling overseas and was unavailable for comment.
In a joint statement the six Republicans, Diane Allen (Burlington), Kip Bateman (Somerset), Andrew Ciesla (Ocean), Chris Connors (Ocean), Sean Kean (Monmouth), and Robert Singer (Ocean), said that women's health is a "vital priority."
But they said the treasurer had convinced them that a transfer of money from the state prescription fund, which the Democrats say is overfunded, would put the account in jeopardy and "risk access to needed medicines for women and children."
The six Republicans said in the statement that if a veto-override vote is held, they "will vote to support maintaining a balanced budget and ensure there is continued access to prescription medicines for families."
