Hello from St. Paul,
We have just completed our last full week of work before we begin our Easter/Passover break, and our House committees have been extremely busy working on budget bills.
In order to set a state budget, an overall spending target for the next two fiscal years must be agreed upon by the governor, Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the House. That happened last week, as the Democrats agreed to use almost all of our projected $17 billion budget surplus on government program spending, most of which will be permanent.
Minnesota spends $52 billion in our current budget on state government programs. The Democrats have now agreed to significantly increase that amount, and will now spend nearly $70 billion in our next budget, which represents a 35% increase in state spending.
As you might expect, committee chairs are now working feverishly to ensure their top priorities receive funding and are included in their comprehensive spending bills, which are beginning to come forward.
One area that should be a top priority for the State of Minnesota, but sadly isn’t, is nursing home and long-term care funding.
Its not hyperbole to say that Minnesota is now in crisis mode when it comes to caring for our elderly and disabled populations. Lawmakers were told at a recent committee hearing that in the month of October, 11,000 people were turned away from nursing homes, mainly due to lack of staff. The inability to fully staff our nursing homes then creates unwanted stress on our hospitals, as nearly 20% of their bedspace is being taken up by people who should be recovering in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
It’s estimated that the worker shortage in the long-term care industry in our state totals 53,000.
A rally was held at the Capitol Thursday demanding attention and action to the nursing home crisis, and I strongly support the effort. Nursing homes are vital to our rural communities, and they could not survive without the efforts of the caregivers who are not only overworked but underpaid. With a $17 billion surplus, we should be able to finally address this crisis head on and ensure all of our most vulnerable residents receive the care they deserve. With the budget setting process now underway, it’s my hope that Democrat leadership does just that.
Have a good weekend,
John