Nevada coalition rallies against plan to cut funds for the poor

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 | 11:03 a.m.

A coalition of more than 70 Nevada organizations rallied Monday against proposed cuts of an estimated $164 million in federal funds for the state's poor over the next five years.

The coalition, calling itself Nevadans Against Cuts and Caps, delivered letters to Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., expressing their opposition to the House version of the federal budget currently being discussed in Congress.

That version could cut $74 million from Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance, $26 million in food stamps, $28.5 million in Earned Income Tax Credits -- a refund for low-income taxpayers -- and millions more dollars from welfare, foster care and other social programs, according to the coalition.

Reid also opposes the cuts.

"I am determined to find ways to cut the Republican deficits, but we should not do so by simply shifting the burden onto the states while the president hides the true cost of his tax cuts and Social Security privatization," Reid said.

"The president's budget is an immoral approach that turns a blind eye to the poorest among us."

Ensign's office received the coalition letter but he hasn't read it yet, Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said.

The House and Senate last month approved differing versions of a $2.6 trillion federal budget framework for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Lawmakers from both chambers will be meeting in coming weeks to iron out differences.

One important difference centers on Medicaid, with the House version proposing up to $20 billion in program cuts over five years, and the Senate version not including Medicaid cuts.

The House version proposes cuts ranging from $30 billion to $35 billion in social programs nationwide over the next five years, while the Senate version would cut $2.8 billion from the food stamp program in the same period, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based group.

At a press conference Monday outside the George Federal Building announcing the local coalition's position on the House budget, Mark Nichols, executive director of the state chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, said, "This administration appears to place values and priorities on billionaires more than our children."

"We'll pay our fair share of taxes," he said, "but we expect priorities when spending those dollars."

The coalition includes the AFL-CIO of Nevada, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nevada, the Las Vegas branch of the NAACP, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, the Nevada Health Care Association and other groups.

President Bush and his budget backers in Congress have said Medicaid can be made more efficient and that there are savings to be found in the program, as well as in the federal budget as a whole. Bush aims to cut the federal budget deficit in half within five years, and he is prodding lawmakers to finalize a lean budget.

Earlier this month Bush told reporters that lawmakers should understand that "a good, solid budget that helps us meet objectives is one that deals with mandatory spending items" like Medicaid. He said the White House budget proposal offered "common-sense" reforms in mandatory spending programs.

But some Nevada officials are worried about proposed cuts. Nancy Ford, administrator for the State Welfare Division, said the need for services her division oversees has grown in recent years.

Medicaid use has grown 41 percent since July 2001; welfare, 71 percent during the same period; and food stamps, 64 percent, the official said.

At the same time, "Nevada rates as one the lowest states in low-income services," Ford said.

"Having any cuts would hurt us more than many states."