Dead party walking

by: Jay Stevens

Thu Mar 05, 2009 at 09:25:23 AM MST

A key House committee made its initial moves Wednesday in piecing together the state budget, but it left unresolved one of the biggest issues dividing Democrats and Republicans: funding for an expanded health insurance program for Montana children....

[Rep. Penny Morgan (R-Billings)] offered an amendment that would increase state funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by $10 million over the next two years, to add thousands of children to the program and capture millions more in federal matching funds.

The panel's 10 Democrats, however, voted against the proposal, saying they would agree only to fully funding Healthy Montana Kids, which expands both CHIP and Medicaid, another government health insurance program.

"I think that this amendment takes us in the wrong direction of what Montana voters told us loud and clear last November," said Rep. Dan Villa, D-Anaconda.

Voters approved the expansion by passing Initiative 155 by a 70-30 margin. Fully funding I-155 would cost about $35 million in state money the next two years.

I do think House Democrats should compromise on this issue. They could, say, agree to the Republicans' choice for card stock of the paper on which the bill to fully fund CHIP is signed into law. But to back down an inch on the timing or funding for the program, as approved by 70 percent of Montanans? Not a chance. CHIP funding shouldn't even be accepted as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations.

It's the duty of the legislature to fund the program. Anything less would be rightfully seen as the abrogation of the contract between the people and its representation.