| Don Perata says that he will drop the Dem plan to increase health care eligibility, but that's not enough for the GOP. Dick Ackerman's going for the kiddy-jugular:
Democrats are dropping a proposal to extend state health insurance programs to all California children, including undocumented immigrants, a key stumbling block in negotiations over a state budget, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said Monday.
But Republicans said they still wouldn't vote for the $131 billion spending plan because it also includes $23 million that GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put in to shore up existing county health programs covering children who are in the United States illegally.
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"We did not want the budget to become hung up on that particular point," said Perata, D-Oakland. "This is about children. They should not be a chess piece in this game."
The Democrats' change of heart leaves the governor aligned with them but on the opposite side of the issue from members of his own party.
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Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine called Perata's announcement Monday "a step in the right direction, but we also need to deal with the $23 million that the governor put in." (SacBee 6/20/06)
Before it was all a bit hypothetical, because Schwarzenegger had the "it's too expensive" line. Now, the $23 million is his own doing. He thought it was affordable in his budget rewrite, it is still affordable now. How important does the governor find the children of this state? The $23 million goes to county health programs which fund increases for all children, not merely immigrants.
Apparently, it's not that important for Ackerman and the GOP. We'll see how important it is for the Governator. I already submitted a question about it in the Governor's "Ask Governor Schwarzenegger" webcast. The webcast begins at 10:30, so get your questions in quickly! |
