House Budget Committee addresses economic concerns

Missouri Republicans and Democrats' opinions about stimulus money differ.

By Andrew Denney and Greg Young

Published March 9, 2009

For the last few weeks, the 29 members of the House Budget Committee have been at the forefront of a debate that encompasses the economic concerns of the state and the two parties' differing approaches of how to address them.

This week, the committee completed hearings on the 14 bills that make up the Missouri budget, which were proposed by House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, last week.

Icet's proposed bills have drawn criticism from the 13 Democrats on the committee, as they do not include several of Gov. Jay Nixon's proposals, such as his pledge to maintain levels of funding for higher education for fiscal year 2010 from the previous year and to reduce the number of uninsured in the state by increased coverage through the state's Medicaid system.

In addition, Icet has reduced the amount of total state general revenue used in some bills and replaced it with funds from the federal stimulus package because he said he wanted to limit growth of governmental programs by using the stimulus funds for a portion of the appropriations bills.

On Wednesday, legislators will have the chance to propose amendments to the bills.

The contention about the way the state provides services illustrates a clash of basic ideological principles between the parties.

Rep. Rachel Storch, D-St. Louis, said the treatment of the budget bills by the committee's 16 Republican members reflects a "larger attitude" about the GOP's ideas for health care and social spending.

"On one side, the Democrats tend to believe in a stronger safety net," Storch said. "The Republicans tend to believe in smaller government practices. There's just an inevitable clash."

Throughout the process, many of Icet's proposed cuts have caused controversy. Some of Nixon's campaign promises throughout the campaign, including increasing the Medicaid eligibility to 50 percent of the poverty level and Nixon's proposal to expand health care coverage for children, were both axed in Icet's proposed budget.

Both issues were raised Monday, when the committee read and explored two of the bills: one that appropriates money for the Department of Mental Health, the Board of Public Buildings and the Department of Health and Senior Services, and another that appropriates money to the Department of Social Services.

Overall, the total reductions Icet proposed from Nixon's budget recommendations to social services total $389 million, and include cuts to the Department of Mental Health, as well as to alcohol and drug addiction treatment services and public health inspectors.

In an interview at the Democrat Days festival last weekend, Rep. Sara Lampe, D-Springfield, said the Republicans have used the economic recession to make "deep cuts" to governmental programs.

But Republicans have said although some of the cuts are unfortunate, they are necessary.

"The question is, where is the money?" Rep. Sally Faith, R-St. Charles, said.

In the overall budget in the gross numbers, the Republican version of the budget is $260.9 million smaller then Nixon's proposed budget.