ms. baldwin. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and members of the subcommittee, for allowing me the opportunity to testify today. i think it is appropriate that we're convened to consider and discuss this legislation during the month of may, which is elder abuse awareness month. i want to thank my colleague from north carolina, mr. coble, for his leadership on this issue. i also want to extend my thanks to your panel of expert witnesses who will follow this panel. my own experiences on this issue began as a primary caregiver for my grandmother. that experience opened my eyes to the troubling exploitative tactics targeted at america's seniors but growing up in wisconsin, i was raised by my maternal grandparents. but i went away to college, i returned to my hometown of madison to be there for my grandmother, who by then was widowed. she had sacrificed so much to raise me, and eventually i became her primary caregiver. another time she turned 90 years old, she asked me for a little help sorting through her mail and balancin

ms. baldwin: i rise in favor of this measure. during this economic crisis, our states have suffered which mean ours citizens have suffered. states that are facing severe budget shortfalls and without federal help will have to take extreme action. who would this hurt? it would hurt our most vulnerable, our children, our elleders, our sick and our frail. people who rely on medicaid benefits would see them slashed. states would be forced to make cuts where we can least afford it. but not only does medicaid funding protect citizens, it also promotes them. the congressional budget office found that increased medicaid assistance creates jobs and increases demand in the economy. the recovery is under way but it's slow. families in wisconsin and across the nation are struggling to make ends meet and find good jobs. we in the house have time and again passed legislation to try to address this. through additional medicaid funding and dedicated dollars for teachers in our school. finally, today we have the opportunity to send this bill to t