AUGUSTA, Maine — Leaders of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee are proposing an immediate emergency bill to take care of the nearly $5 million revenue shortfall for the budget year that runs out June 30.
“We feel we should take care of this now so we can move on to the other budget bills we have to deal with,” said Rep. Patrick Flood, R-Winthrop, co-chairman of the panel. He is introducing a joint order on Tuesday to have the panel report out a budget bill aimed at filling the revenue shortfall this week.
He said in addition to the measure to fill the shortfall for this year, they have to deal with the $86 million Medicaid shortfall in the second year of the two-year budget and supplemental budget to take care of spending needs outside of the Medicaid program.
“We will be looking for a solution for that, we don’t have one yet,” said Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, the other co-chairman of the panel. He said the panel intends to act quickly on the bill and will continue to work on the 2013 Medicaid shortfall legislation as they deal with the immediate revenue shortfall.
“I am going to trust you will find the money from areas that will not cause concern,” said Sen. Dawn Hill, D-York, during a meeting of committee leaders Friday afternoon. Both Flood and Rosen said that is the only way the bill can get swift passage.
“I have got some debt service money identified,” Flood said, “that is really a gift. We will be meeting with [Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett] to help us identify funds.”
Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, said she believes the cuts in spending from the last few months of the budget year can be found to solve the revenue problem.
“It makes it easier for us to deal with that and then move on to the more difficult budget,” she said.
Rosen said there are always lapsed balances at the end of a budget year and he believes with Millett’s help the panel can identify those accounts that have more funds than needed for the remainder of the budget year and take care of the revenue shortfall as well as pay the non-Medicaid bills for the rest of the year.
The measure passed last month provided the funds to pay expected Medicaid expenses through June 30. Rotundo said the remaining two budgets will be more difficult with the proposed Medicaid cuts made by Gov. Paul LePage.
“I have said the proposed cuts in Medicaid are dangerous and irresponsible,” she said. “There are proposals Democrats will just not accept.”
For example, she said, eliminating the funding for the drugs for the elderly program is a “nonstarter” for Democrats, as is elimination of early childhood education programs. She said many of the proposals to “throw people off health care” will not gain Democratic support.
“There are some where there is clearly disagreement,” Rosen said. “There are others where we ought to be able to work out some agreements, some consensus.”
He said he is not giving up on working with Democrats to achieve agreement on as much as possible in the Medicaid budget. He said the Medicaid budget may well end up as a party-line split but not without a sincere effort to reach agreement.
“We are working in our caucus to come up with alternatives to these proposals and we will work with our Republican colleagues where we can to reach compromise,” Rotundo said. But she said many of the governor’s proposals simply are not worth discussing because they have no support among Democrats.
Rosen said the two partisan caucuses will share ideas and positions later in the week, with a target of completing work on the Medicaid budget by midmonth. They expect the supplemental budget for meeting non-Medicaid needs will be submitted by then by LePage.
All four of the committee leaders expressed a desire to achieve a bipartisan budget to pay other state government bills over the last two weeks of the month.
“It certainly is going to be busy,” Rosen said.
Enough Mainecare cuts time to move onto something just as bloated (happy now)
Medicare is the federal program. The state program is Medicaid, more commonly in Maine called MaineCare.
Maine care needs more cuts!
And one day soon, when you join the ranks of the unemployed–or become disabled, or have a child or grandchild who is born or becomes disabled, how will you pay for your/their health care?
I will get another job and buy own, thank you like I do now.
You must be a gov hack!
There are 4 or 5 unemployed people for every available job these days. Perhaps you will find another job. Or perhaps you will not.
If you believe you could earn enough to keep body and soul together if you developed a serious disability, you are sadly misinformed.
If you think you could pay for the health needs and everyday expenses of a disabled child, think again.
One day you yourself, or someone you love, might need the social safety net you’re presently so eager to shred.
Incidentally, I don’t work for the government. I do have respect for goverment workers.
Regardless of your political leanings, I think the main idea is that there are a lot of inefficiencies in MaineCare. Our government spends similar amounts as a percentage of our GDP as other countries on healthcare, this includes Medicare and Medicaid. Yet, most of these other countries have significantly better public health offerings. This means that we are spending to much money on what we are getting. So if we are going to continue with our horrible offerings then it would only make sense that we stop spending so much, since we are after all not getting what we are paying for.
The chief culprit in terms of not getting what we pay for is the for-profit insurance corporation model.
“The U.S. spends twice as much as other industrialized nations on health care, $8,160 per capita. Yet our system performs poorly in comparison and still leaves 50 million without health coverage and millions more inadequately covered. This is because private insurance bureaucracy and paperwork consume one-third (31 percent) of every health care dollar. Streamlining payment through a single nonprofit payer would save more than $400 billion per year, enough to provide comprehensive, high-quality coverage for all Americans… Private insurers necessarily waste health dollars on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay.” [http://www.pnhp.org]
It will take more than a second job to pay all those bills
How many “emergency” budget fixes does the Lepage administration require?
Yes, revenue streams change and unexpected expenses come up, but the actually competent administrations of the past have needed just one supplemental per year to fine tune the budget.
So far we have gotten 3 or 4 supplemental from this administration along with the original one from last year.
I wouldn’t call it the Lepage administration.
More like a spineless republican legislature.
Amen these Republicans are just like Democrats don’t have the guts to do their jobs. They are following democrats by trying to buy votes so they can be in power. But still I would take them over the Liberals because at least it’s slow but things are heading in the right direction. Liberals would put this state into total bankruptcy if they could by creating every Welfare Program they can think of. While driving out all of the businesses and working people in the process. That is now why Liberals are trying to take money from the Casinos to get more DHHS programs going. They want more Casinos and Gambling allowed so they can use they money to expand DHHS and Welfare. I love Casinos, Horse Racing, Bingo and Gambling but the money should not be just for Welfare it should be to benefit the Maine People , lowering taxes and creating jobs .
From what I can see, the folks we elected (Rs) to clean this mess up don’t know how to use the power we have given them.
Dont pretend to be independant!
We can see through your fog!
It will take many budget fixes to clean up the last administration’s 8 years of squandering tax payer’s money.
Emergency budgets should only be used to make adjustments because of unplanned events. Whether overall budget changes are required or not, Having this many so close together is a sign of extreme incompetence because it says that they just can’t do the math to get the numbers right.
Sloppy bookeeping from the past Admin.
Many skeletons found in the closets of DHHS and regrettably many possibly to come.
Very disappointing when a party uses tax payer $’s to win over votes!
That’s what happens when you make up numbers to create a crisis and attempt to get your way!! That’s all the governor has done since he took office.
“We will be looking for a solution for that, we don’t have one yet,” said Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, the other co-chairman of the panel.”
We have a suggestion – privatize the Maine Maritime Academy in your district and save $9 million per year with no downsize except for the 1/2 of the student body that are from out of state and leave after graduation and never look back.
There will never be “reason” in the legislature when half of them have signed pledges to operate with their hands tied behind their back.
Hey Einstein, he didn’t create it. He is trying to fix it, and the bottom line is that Maine’s economy is likely permanently tanked thanks to the gross mismanagement and incompetence of previous administrations.
You have to be kidding tyke, John Baldacci had a crisis every morning when he showed up at the office around 10am. His answer, increase the cigarette tax and sell the liquor revenue stream for some quick upfront cash. Now we don’t have those revenues any more because of that man’s total incompetence. He’ll fit in nicely again in Washington if he wins Snowe’s seat – all of his peers are there.
You want to know why there’s a short fall ?? Because the elderly pay no taxes the poor pay no taxes an the people that have a lot of deduction pay no taxes or hardly any taxes at all an that’s about 50% of the people in the USA. So as you can see 50% of the people in the USA pay taxes
Are you really outraged that elderly people living on, say, $18,000 to $20,000 a year don’t pay income taxes? They pay sales tax, excise tax, and so on. Is that not good enough for you? Do you want to gouge them to make up for the Republican tax breaks for millionaires?
Old retirees had 40 years like every other person to save for retirement. Most have pensions, collect social security, and have medicare. This old age non-sense from Democrats is just that. I thought the budget was balanced? Guess we got yet another lie from Emily Cain and the cast of clowns on these committees.
Many of us have saved for our retirement. Then those who talk of “this old age non-sense”, come along and try to take more away from us at a time in our lives when there is little option of going back to work to make ends meet. The costs of living increase but our income does not. Be very careful what you wish for, your time is coming and things always seem to get worse down the road. Good luck to you, you are going to need it.
If a person earns minimum wage, it’s all they can do to keep body and soul together during their working lives. How on earth are they to save up enough for retirement?
What some people think is that they should just work, eat an sleep an that’s it an have nothing not even tv or a phone an bum a ride to work
I am sure your not a parasite on Maine care or any of these wasteful programs. Gov Lepage wants to force many of these parasites to get a job. As I tell my kids, as you get older you must take personal responsibility. People like Emily Cain, chellie Pingree etc want to steal from one person who has worked hard and hand it over to people who either are lazy or made bad choices. They also want to borrow money we dont have to fund wasteful programs, generational theivery as you will. Basically do not trust these charlatons most of whom are in Democratic party. Per your last comment, my retirement will be just fine because I save and budget. My concern is, will the Democrats succeed in bankrupting SSI, bankrupt the country, collapse the dollar by printing money, and have no energy policy where we fail to drill. I am hoping we get new leadership come Nov.
George W. Bush brought the US to the brink of Depression II by starting two unfunded wars and giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires (slashing revenues).
If the Republicans have their way, your retirement will be a perilous thing.
1) They will privatize Social Security, so you’ll be at the mercy of the stock market.
2) They will make sure Wall Street stays poorly regulated, so we’ll be at risk of another stock market meltdown that will wipe out your retirement savings, whether it’s Social Security or stocks and bonds.
3) They will destroy the social safety net, so when you are destitute there will be no help.
Many of the people who commented on this article would blame Obama, and deny Bush’s responsibility, for the current economic mess. They blame Baldacci while exonerating Lepage for the same current economic mess. Either the logical inconsistency of their beliefs is beyond their understanding, or their dishonesty is on display. But in either case they have nothing but hot air to offer.
Please tell me what the yearly income would be for a woman, now in her 70s or so, who was a homemaker all her life (two-income households being a fairly recent standard), whose husband earned minimum wage.
Are you certain that no one in the US is poor?
They are lucky if they get 1,000 a month to live on an they need state services to live
And Republican leaders slam them as “not having skin in the game” if they don’t pay income tax. They’ve got skin, and flesh, and bone in the game.
Oh please they don’t have the energy to out of the house if the Government doesn’t motivate them by cutting their benefits. Why is it do you think we have to continue to pay for those who are too lazy and don’t want to get a job. Why should I pay for women who continue to get pregnant so they can increase their benefits. Why should I pay for deadbeat dads who try to get on Welfare and try to collect SSI so they don’t have to work. I’m sorry but it’s not my right or responsibility to pay for these losers.
So your saying Lepage is taking her money? Doubt it. Also you say she stayed home and lived off pops min wage job>> Too funny.
I think I understand better now–conservatives simply don’t know much about how poor people live, and don’t want to know. It’s a lot easier and simpler to despise them.
I know by the way you talk you can not be that old or you would not be talking that way
I got that info on tv on a money channel . No they don’t pay on there social security an people that have railroad retirement do not pay taxes on that money . Also people that retire from the state do they pay taxes on there retirement ?
Yes, we do!!
It all depends how much money in come you have .
1. How much – if any – of your Social Security benefits are taxable depends on your total income and marital status.
2. Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income for 2010, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.
3. If you received income from other sources, your benefits will not be taxed unless your modified adjusted gross income is more than the base amount for your filing status.
4. Your taxable benefits and modified adjusted gross income are figured on a worksheet in the Form 1040A or Form 1040 Instruction booklet.
5. You can do the following quick computation to determine whether some of your benefits may be taxable:
• First, add one-half of the total Social Security benefits you received to all your other income, including any tax exempt interest and other exclusions from income.
• Then, compare this total to the base amount for your filing status. If the total is more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable.
6. The 2010 base amounts are:
• $32,000 for married couples filing jointly.
• $25,000 for single, head of household, qualifying widow/widower with a
dependent child, or married individuals filing separately who did not live
with their spouses at any time during the year.
• $0 for married persons filing separately who lived together during the
year.
7. For additional information on the taxability of Social Security
benefits, see IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad
Retirement Benefits. Publication 915 is available on this website or by
calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
*Links:*
I was responding about those retiring from the state. They receive Maine State Retirement, not Social Securty and it is taxable. Most are not eligible for social security due to the offset.
Ok you did not make that clear But that it will also depend how much you are able to deduct to on what you pay for taxs
No i was just saying they do not pay income taxes. Did i say i was mad ??
No but I am outraged that we continue to have these shortfalls because of these Welfare Programs that do absolutely nothing but break the bank of the state and its people. It is time to cut their benefits and start motivating these folks to getting to the career center. It’s time to light some firecrackers under their butts and start getting some energy into these dolts. Because if we continue to do nothing . They are going to just continue to sit home being lazy watching tv, eating potato chips or play facebook on the computer.
It’s mine and everyone else’s hard earned tax dollars that we are wasting.
Actually, you’re wrong. People on Social Security that exceed a certain income level do pay income taxes. I don’t remember the income amount off hand, but it isn’t very much. They sure aren’t getting rich.
Wolly I thought it was because those on Welfare was losing our money we give them at the Hollywood Casino and on Lottery Tickets.
You don’t make any sense at all
He seldom does.
He tends to spout all kind of crap. He hates people on welfare, but he doesn’t mind taking the rent subsidy for those poor souls who have him as a landlord in the apartments he rents them because no one else will!!! I think that’s welfare, don’t you?
In his own mind none of us make sense. Sad. He seems to be incapable of understanding the last administration’s federal tax cuts, aggravated by accelerated unbudgeted spending on military issues, pinched the common pocket. It is much easier to blame the welfare boogeyman, or the last Governor, or the current President, than puzzle through something as complex as economics. But hey, he still has the same right as the rest of us to spout his simple opinion.
ok ty that’s much better
The repubs. have to move this forward as an “emergency” bill, because after this budget session ends they know they’re toast in November.
Its quite simple actually, we need to reform the welfare system in this state. Why do we pay for bottled water, when the person that owns the section 8 housing that the welfare recipients live in has to have a water source that will pass state standards ? Why do I see people with the creditcards that say Maine across the top of them, buy cigarettes with cash, then buy junk food with the said card ? We all know someone on State aid that owns a pet or two, yes ? Oh and dont forget the snowsled or 4 wheeler they ride while the rest of us work to pay for their existance ! While your own grandparent ponders if they can afford their medications because they are now on a tight fixed income after working their whole lives because there is no money left to give them a fare cost of living raise, the local methadrone, we all know a few, gets theirs for free!!! Heck they even collect a check for their troubles of going to the clinic to get the stuff!! THIS STATE IS SCREWED UNLESS WE TAKE CHARGE DOWN IN DISGUSTA.