Lawmakers pledge support for safety net programs even in tough budget times

DES MOINES – With a record number of Iowans tapping safety net programs Medicaid and food assistance, key lawmakers pledge the state will not abandon its responsibilities even in tough budget times.

State Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, said in an economic downturn, there is a disproportionate increase in the number of people that need state services. Hatch said the public might be served more slowly, but assistance still will be there.

“They need to know that we are going to fulfill our obligation to them – that we are not going to throw people out on the streets, and we're going to provide the services,” Hatch said.

Rep. Lisa Heddens, D-Ames, said it is the state's responsibility to assist those in need.

“We have individuals and families that have an expectation that if they have lost their job, or lost their health care -- they're looking to the state safety net to help them through these tough economic times,” Heddens said.

Hatch and Heddens are co-chairs of a legislative committee overseeing a $1.2 billion state health and human services budget.

The committee met Friday, weeks before the Iowa Legislature opens its regular session, to begin sketching out spending priorities and areas where savings could be found.

Spending on state health and human services is down, due to across-the-board budget cuts. State officials are working to fill the gap with federal dollars.

Lily French, a research associate with the Iowa Policy Project, warned of immediate and long-term consequences of state budget cuts and the economic downturn on vulnerable families. Spending cuts translate into job losses, either for state employees or private-sector firms with contracts with the state, she said.

Iowa has lost more than 50,000 jobs since the beginning of the recession, jobs which Iowa will be slow to recover, she said. Jobs lost in Iowa during the previous recession earlier this decade took the state four years to regain, she said.

“We regain those jobs at half the rate of the rest of the country, so each job that we lose in Iowa puts us further behind,” French said.

Reductions in state benefits and services also put vulnerable families at risk and create long-term consequences for the state, she told the committee.

French cited research showing that children who fall into poverty during a recession fare worse as adults, even if they leave poverty after the recession is over. Those children achieve lower levels of education and are less likely to be gainfully employed over their lifetimes, she said.

Ranking committee member David Johnson, a Republican state senator from Ocheyedan, said the budget discussion needs to begin by recognizing that state has been spending into a deficit.

“That's especially true when it comes to serving the most vulnerable Iowans. We're not going to be able to help them as much as we have in the past, as much as advocates want us to,” Johnson said.