Walker administration reverses stance on federal health grant

U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) applauded Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith for an apparent turn-around to support the city of Milwaukee’s application for federal grant funding to help fight and prevent chronic diseases.
Last month, Smith said that he would not write a letter of support for the city’s application for Community Transformation Grants. Such a letter is needed for the application to be considered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If Milwaukee is awarded a grant, the state has no administrative or financial obligation.
Moore said, “There is federal funding out there that can improve the health of our people.  It made zero sense to deny us the chance at this funding, and I’m glad Secretary Smith has changed his position.  His reversal means that Milwaukee can at least throw its hat in the ring.”
When Moore first learned that the city’s application would be denied without a letter of support from the state, she wrote to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and asked her to consider applications from Wisconsin without state support.  She also wrote to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and urged him to reconsider the decision and support Milwaukee’s grant application.
The Walker administration reversed its stance and issued the letter of support, enabling the city to apply for as much as $4.8 million over five years to fight obesity and reduce deaths from heart attack and stroke.
– BizTimes Milwaukee