GOP lawmakers push dangerous, irresponsible budget
AUGUSTA — In a vote of 8-5, Maine Republican lawmakers on the Appropriations Committee forced through a dangerous and irresponsible budget proposal that will hurt Maine’s economy, vulnerable seniors and children, and working families, while giving away additional unfunded tax cuts.
“The Republicans are trying to discount how hurtful these cuts will be to thousands of Maine families,” said Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, the lead House Democrat on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. “Their proposal removes access to health care and services for thousands of children and seniors, while adding to unfunded tax cuts. The costs will fall straight on property taxpayers, private insurance holders, and hospitals.”
Republicans accepted many of Governor Paul LePage’s controversial proposals that were widely rebuffed by the public during hearings last year.
The GOP proposal makes the following cuts:
- Reduces access to medicine and medical care for more than 5,649 seniors, earning between $14,000 -$19,000 per year.
- Cuts funding for early childhood education programs, including HeadStart, that help working parents continue working. These cuts will result in 216 children loosing care and another 1,400 losing a child care credit.
- Cuts also increase the number of uninsured Mainers by thousands, shifting health care costs onto emergency rooms, hospitals, and private insurance holders.
- Cuts to funding to critical home visitation programs that flag domestic abuse for more than 1,000 families in crisis.
- Reduces funding for women’s health and family planning by $400,000.
“Nothing about this budget improves Maine. Instead, it will burden low income seniors, children, and families struggling to make ends meet,” said Senator Dawn Hill of York who serves on the Appropriations Committee. “It ignores reality and puts our economy and people’s lives in jeopardy.”
Earlier this week, Republican lawmakers worked on the budget without Democrats and behind closed doors with Gov. LePage and his staff, who provided them with secret documents that were not immediately shared with Democrats, the public or the legislative fiscal office.
“The GOP argument that this budget is about closing an emergency gap lost all credibility when they started using harmful cuts to give away taxpayer money,” said John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, who serves on the committee. “We’d all like to have more money in our pockets, but none of us would want to take it from our grandmother’s purse or our children’s piggy banks.”
Democrats presented an alternative proposal that makes the necessary adjustments to bring the budget into balance. It also includes cost-saving managed care initiatives that deliver more efficient health care services; a cost-saving provider-fraud prevention program, and also increases funding for the state’s rainy day fund.
The full Legislature will vote on the budget next week.
