Gov. Ed Rendell announced Monday a $31 million package of emergency measures to protect needy Pennsylvania families from the stormy economy.

Gov. Rendell announces steps to provide immediate emergency relief to families

Rendell targeted state-administered programs for home heating aid, mortgage relief and other welfare, saying the state's unemployment rate had grown from 4.6 percent to 7 percent in the last year, and action was needed at once.

"It is absolutely brutal, and I don't think it's likely to change in the next few months," Rendell said at a press conference, according to The Associated Press.

The measures drew a mixed response from Republican lawmakers who represent parts of Lancaster County.

"His choices were logical," said state Rep. Gordon Denlinger of Narvon. "These are relatively small amounts when you consider the size of Pennsylvania's ($28 billion) budget."

State Rep. Scott Boyd of West Lampeter, however, questioned why Rendell had disposable funds when the state is facing a massive gap between revenues and costs.

"The first question has to be is: Where is he getting the $31 million since we're, at this point, $1.3 billion short of revenue in the current budget," Boyd said.

Rendell's proposals would:

• Put $5 million toward a mortgage assistance program for unemployed homeowners.

• Provide $6.6 million toward home heating assistance, so about 19,000 families could receive heating aid for an additional week this winter.

• Prompt the state Department of Labor & Industry to study how it could expand unemployment counseling services.

• Create a Web site, www.parxpricefinder.com, so people can enter a zip code and compare prescription drug prices among local pharmacies.

• Provide adultBasic health care to 16,000 additional people. Rendell said that would cut into the current 200,000 people on the waiting list for the state-administered health care program for low-income families whose jobs do not provide coverage.

Barry Ciccocioppo, a spokesman for Rendell, said funds would come from efficiency measures implemented by adultBasic administrators that saved money during the last year.

The measures do not need legislative approval because the funds come under the discretion of the governor's office. The Rendell administration pooled money from several sources through cost saving measures and attrition and used unspent money in the current budget that could be redirected into these programs.

Boyd, co-chair of the House Republican Health Care Task Force, slammed the Rendell administration for accumulating money through efficiency in the adultBasic program while thousands wait to enroll in the program.

"They don't make spots immediately available," Boyd said. "The governor waits until there's a pool of money, and then he has a press announcement to say, 'I've opened 10,000 new slots (in adultBasic).'

"To me it would be a more … compassionate way of doing it to have a constant flow of people having access to adultBasic literally on a weekly basis as funds were available."

Pennsylvania's economy has lost 75,000 jobs during the last year, according to the Associated Press. The AP reported that banks have repossessed 12,000 homes and 40,000 homeowners have received at least one foreclosure notice.

E-mail: dpidgeon@lnpnews.com