Advocates criticize Douglas’ budget cuts
Toolbox
By Peter Hirschfeld VERMONT PRESS BUREAU - Published: May 29, 2009
MONTPELIER — Advocates for the poor, the disabled and the elderly told mostly Democratic lawmakers Thursday that Gov. James Douglas’ latest budget proposal will dismantle human-service programs keeping their clients afloat.
The governor’s budget-cutting exercise has taken the shears to a government-funded safety net already weakened by slipping revenue figures, critics of the administration plan said. Further reductions in Medicaid reimbursements, affordable-housing appropriations and other cost-containing measures included in the Republican governor’s plan, they said, will undo a social mission that has, until now, defined Vermont.
“The governor’s proposal is less a budget than it is a requiem for many essential services and programs,” said Christopher Curtis, a lawyer for Legal Aid whose organization would face additional cuts under the administration plan. “This budget would change welfare and unemployment policy for a generation at the expense of families who desperately need assistance now.”
About 75 Vermonters testified at a Statehouse hearing convened by Democratic leadership after Douglas — who has promised to veto the Legislature’s budget — submitted an alternate spending plan.
Douglas called the hearings a “sham,” saying his alternative budget framework — some parts of which Republican lawmakers have expressed concern about — is not what legislators will vote on at a special session next week.
“It’s a question of their budget or something else, at this point,” he said. If his veto is sustained, according to Douglas, then “everything is on the table.”
That didn’t stop advocates for and recipients of human-service programs from railing against items in the governor’s budget. A further reduction in Medicaid reimbursements for health care providers drew particularly harsh treatment, as did a plan to slash almost all funding for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.
“A cut of this magnitude will have far-reaching impacts,” Paul Harrington, of the Vermont Medical Society, said of a proposal to reduce Medicaid reimbursements by 4 percent. “More physicians will be forced to turn away Medicaid beneficiaries, and they’ll turn up in emergency rooms.”
Alburg farmer Heather Darby said conservation easements facilitated by VHCB allowed her to keep a farm that has been in her family since 1800.
“The continuation of the agricultural legacy in this state is truly dependent on funding for VHCB from the state,” Darby said. “It is truly a mistake for the state to eliminate funding for this program.”
A plan to shift Vermont Interactive Television to the auspices of the Vermont State College system — a plan that would save General Fund dollars by likely destroying the program, a top college official said — also drew fire.
“Ultimately budgets are about values, and I want to remind you all that Vermont’s value is very much involved in taking care of each other,” said former Chittenden County Sen. Janet Munt. “To keep Vermont the kind of place we want it to be, I implore you to override the governor’s veto and the devastating budget he proposes.”
Eugene Bifano, a Warren resident, was among a small minority on hand Thursday to suggest that Vermont jeopardizes its long-term solvency by continuing generous benefits in such challenging times.
“I’m probably the only person here not looking to take money or ask for money. In fact, I’m asking to keep some of my own,” Bifano said. “I know what I’m saying is unpopular … But you can’t keep spending money like there’s an unlimited source.”
Sen. Susan Bartlett, a Lamoille County Democrat and chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said Thursday’s hearing attests to the breadth and scope of Vermonters relying on government services. The state’s high quality of life, she said, rests on the decisions to be made in this difficult fiscal year.
“That’s what this fight is about,” she said.
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