Budget talks take “a step back” tonight because of health care
With less than 48 hours to go until the end of the legislative session, what had looked like progress toward a deal on a nearly $3 billion budget deficit has stalled. Republicans are objecting to a health care plan that Democrats argue is central to a budget compromise. Democrats are pushing for expansion of Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul. It would increase federal funding to cover low income Minnesotans but the state would also have to put up more money.
DFL House Majority Leader Tony Sertich Sertich said Republicans are universally opposed to the idea. He said after a conference call with Pawlenty that the talks "took a step back" because Republicans in the House and Senate are unwavering in their proposal.
"They want to say no to everything that's on the table that the majority parties think is necessary for the end of a successful session," Sertich said. "They're saying no to any federal health care reform and getting any tax dollars from Washington and that's a big concern."
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Republicans say they're concerned about the cost of the plan and worry that it's a pathway to "socialized medicine."
Republican House Minority Leader Kurt Zellers said he's concerned about the cost but said it's the principle of accepting money under the new federal health overhaul that is prompting GOP opposition:
"Actually having Minnesota be the first state or one of the first state to sign up for ObamaCare has not been something that anyone in our caucus has supported at any point this session," Zellers said.
Gov. Pawlenty's spokesman Brian McClung issued a statement saying he examined the DFL plan and doesn't like it.
"The Governor's reasons include the surcharges in the proposal and potential long-term financial obligations to the state," McClung wrote in a statement.
The health care plan is a just one piece of a larger negotiation to settle a nearly $3 billion budget deficit but DFLers say it as a key piece in the deal. They have pretty much agreed to Pawlenty's level of spending cuts and a payment delay to schools. Sertich and DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher both say Pawlenty should return to St. Paul as soon as he's done fishing this morning. His spokesman said Pawlenty is willing to return to St. Paul but wouldn't say when he would do so.
Lawmakers have until midnight Sunday to pass legislation.