Posted 6/6/01 ëSurplus exists only after needs are metí By T.W. Budig ECM capitol reporter Those interested in promoting more funding for social programs were active at the Capitol last week (May 30). The Minnesota Expects More! campaign ñ a coalition of social service groups ñ were handing out checklists to lawmakers assessing the impact of the 2001 legislative session. In general, representatives from the groups expressed concern that too much emphasis has been placed on tax cuts while societal needs had been overlooked. ìI suggest we donít have a surplus ñ a surplus exists only after needs are met,î said Fr. David McCauley, director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference. Minnesotaís $2.4 billion surplus represents a great opportunity to meet these unmet needs, McCauley explained. There is still time for lawmakers to better address these wants, he said. Todd Otis, representing the Early Care and Education Finance Commission, said as a former lawmaker he didnít think the Legislature was acting in a manner consistent with the values of Minnesotans. There are urgent childcare needs in the state, he said. According to the coalition, more than 3,300 families across the state are on waiting lists for affordable childcare. Currently, Head Start is serving only 40 percent of low-income families and some 48,000 children in the state are without healthcare insurance. In regard to healthcare insurance, Senate language expands healthcare to uninsured children but no similar language exists in the House, according to the coalition. Another area of concern to the coalition was affordable housing. Michael Dahl, executive director for the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, said the housing supply during the 1990s grew at as low of a level as anytime since the Great Depression. Some 6,500 homeless people use shelter programs each night in Minnesota, he said. Still, the emergency shelter funding provided by the 2001 Legislature is one-third of the total appropriation provided the previous year, according to the coalition. While the Senate includes $75 million for affordable rental housing, they target no general fund dollars. The House spends some $24 million on affordable housing from redirected federal reserves. Bernard Brommer, of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, blasted the ìme firstî mentality he sees holding sway over the Legislature. ìAre we going to continue to see the idea of the concentration of wealth ñ get what you can out of the system ñ donít worry about the neighbor ñ donít worry about the children ñ donít worry about the homeless ñ donít worry about anything else,î he said. ìJust get the money and run,î he said. If the current situation has a silver lining itís that it forces people and groups to work together, he said. In a related matter, Sen. Becky Lourey, DFL, Kerrick, Senate education committee vice-chair, said Gov. Venturaís recent vetoing of the Early Childhood Bill ñ the only major bill passed before the close of the regular session ñ gives an opportunity to improve the legislation. ìI think the veto means we can do right for children again,î she said at a press conference today. Still, Lourey said to properly fund the consolidation of childcare the governor seek will take additional funding. ìPeople always leave a little money at the bottom, and Iím asking for that,î said Lourey. The childcare consolidation would bring several childcare programs under one umbrella, explained Lourey. But they donít want this to turn into a poverty program, she said. They donít want people current eligible for childcare assistance to lose the assistance, she said. Rep. Barb Sykora, R, Excelsior, chair of the House Family and Early Childhood Finance, said there wasnít any extra funding in the House bill for additional spending. But improvements in the bill could be made by working within, she said. ©Post Review