Compromise reached on $120M in DHHS cuts
Lawmakers yesterday presented Gov. Paul LePage with a bipartisan agreement to cut $120 million from the Department of Health and Human Services budget. At a press conference afterward, LePage chastised legislators for not approving his budget by Feb. 1 and called out Democrats for stalling the process.
Details of the agreement were not released, but members of the appropriations committee said it would allow DHHS to make MaineCare payments through the end of fiscal year 2012, according to the Sun Journal. The $120 million in cuts would be paired with $25 million in reductions proposed by a task force earlier this year. Lawmakers haven’t reached a compromise on another $80 million in DHHS cuts proposed by LePage, which led him to accuse Democrats on the committee of “stalling since Day One,” according to MaineToday Media. He said he had received the agreement but did not say if he would support it.
Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, the lead Democrat on the appropriations committee, refuted that Democrats have dragged their feet and said they’ve been working to find a compromise.
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