Governor Chris Christie, who just recently signed the Pension and Health Care Reform Bill that would cost 500,000 state workers thousands of additional dollars of out of pocket expenses each year, just cut almost $1 billion from the budget proposal handed to him by Democratic lawmakers. This all occurred Thursday when Christie used his line-item veto power to slash funding for programs that help New Jersey’s poorest while vetoing another millionaires tax bill.
On Thursday afternoon, Christie took a red pen to a $30.6 billion budget prepared by Democratic lawmakers, using his line-item veto power to slash $900 million in spending proposed by the Democrats. When Christie got done with the budget, it was down to $29.7 billion.
Timothy J. Carroll of PolitickerNJ.com, reports that Christie used his line-item veto power to completely cut Democratic programs such as:
senior and disabled property tax freeze ($61 million), municipal public safety aid grants ($50 million), nursing home recipients for medical assistance ($25 million), tuition aid grants ($46 million), Urban Enterprise Zones ($47 million), Legal Services ($10 million) and family planning services ($7.5 million).
Christie had said he wanted to reduce the income eligibility limit for NJ FamilyCare from approximately $25,000 to about $5,300 annually for a family of three. Christie also wanted to remove an estimated 1,400 childless adults from coverage, regardless of their medical conditions. However, the Democratic legislation included the funds to keep Medicare and FamilyCare at their current levels in their budget bill. Senator Robert Menendez and Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. issued a joint press release on Wednesday in speaking out against these cuts and praising the Democratic legislature for reinstating those funds in their budget bill. They said that there are approximately “917,000 people are enrolled in Medicaid or FamilyCare in New Jersey and 668,000 of them are children.” Pallone said, “Closing enrollment to parents will reduce expenses by $9 million but it would sacrifice $17 million in federal matching grants. By eliminating parents, their children are often the victims of lost care. Studies show that when parents aren't included their children often don't receive treatment. There are an estimated 228,100 uninsured children in New Jersey, ranking the state 28th in the country.” Christie used his line-item veto power to eliminate the $9 million, forcing families of 3 who make more than $5,300 annually off FamilyCare. This would force thousands of poor children to emergency rooms in search of basic health care.
Tom Moran of the Star-Leger reported that some of Christie’s cuts seem a little vindictive. Moran writes, “He cut money from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, the outfit that sided with Democrats on this year’s revenue estimates. He cut a fellowship program run by Alan Rosenthal, the Rutgers University professor who served as referee in this year’s legislative redistricting fight, and sided with Democrats.” Christie also added “$150 million in school aid for the suburbs, including the wealthiest towns in the state.”
Christie cut $3.6 million in spending and salaries in both the Senate and the Assembly staff office; however, he left his spending and salaries in the Office of the Governor completely in tact. He also vetoed a millionaire’s tax that would help fund New Jersey public schools. So much for “shared sacrifice.”
Max Pizarro of PolitickerNJ.com reports the line-by-line cuts. Notice how many cuts are made against women, children, and the elderly:
Senate salary and wages: $2.7 million;
General Assembly Salaries and Wages: $1 million;
Wynona Lipman Chair in Women's Political Leadership at Eagleton: $100,000;
Raimondo Legislative Fellows Program: $69,000;
Court Appointed Special Advocates: $289,000;
Wynona Lipman Child Advocacy Center, Essex County: $537,000;
Transitional Aid to Localities: $139,000,000;
Union County Inmate Rehab Services: $3 million;
School Aid (non-Abbotts): $493 million;
Municipal Public Safety Aid: $50 million;
Family Planning Services: $7.5 million;
Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund: $22 million;
AIDS Drug Distribution Program: $7 million;
Nursing Homes: $25 million;
Special Care Nursing Facilities: $4.4 million;
Mental Health Services Salaries and Wages: $9 million;
Mental Health and Addiction Services Community Care: $8 million;
Medical Prescription (dual eligibles): $13 million;
Keep Aged, Blind and Disabled out of managed care: $11 million;
Services to Blind and Visually Impaired: $1.5 million;
WorkFirstNJ Child Care: $6 million;
General Assistance: $19.6 million;
Educational Opportunity Grants: $5.5 million;
Tuition Aid Grants: $46 million;
Part-Time Tuition Aid Grants for County Colleges: $2 million;
NJSTARS: $1.1 million;
Grants to Hispanic Women's Resource Centers: $486,000;
Meadowlands Tax Sharing: $2.4 million;
Nonpublic Technology Aid: $6,5 million;
Amistad Commission: $270,000;
Postpartum Education Campaign: $450,000;
Level One Trauma Centers: $6 million;
Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma: $50,000;
Clinical Legal Programs for the Poor - Camden Law School: $200,000;
Clinical Legal Programs for the Poor - Newark Law School: $200,000;
Clinical Legal Programs for the Poor - Seton Hall University: $200,000;
Per Capita Library Aid: $3.5 million;
Battleship New Jersey, Old Barracks, Newark Museum: $4.3 million;
Center for Hispanic Policy, Reseach and Development: $2.3 million;
Local Aid, Infrastructure Fund (DOT): $10 million;
Legal Services: $10 million;
Public Broadcasting Services: $2 million;
Solid Waste Management: $8,850,000;
Legal Hazard Control Assistance Program: $2 million;
Child Behavioral Health: $5 million;
Urban Enterprise Zones: $47 million.
In referencing the budget bill, Christie said the Democrats “have decided to deceive the citizens of this state with a budget that makes them look like Santa Claus in an election year. How shocking—politicians deceiving and pandering to voters to get re-elected. I was sent here to end this politics as usual.” Unfortunately for many struggling New Jersey families, Christie ended much more than “politics as usual” as thousands of New Jersey’s working poor will no longer have health care for their children.