“I am getting on the bus to represent the thousands of moms, dads, and grandparents across Maine who are tired of feeling frustrated and powerless about the use of dangerous chemicals in products our children come in contact with every day,” said Megan Rice, a mother of two from the town of China. “And when I get to Washington, I intend to ask our Senators and Representatives if they are standing with the chemical companies, or with Maine families and businesses, because Maine moms aren’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

The moms are traveling all day Monday to join the “Safe Chemicals Brigade” on Tuesday, May 22nd that is taking place on the lawn of the US Capitol. Hundreds of moms from around the country are expected to come together to demand action from Congress. Tuesday afternoon, the bus riders are scheduled to meet with Senators Snowe and Collins, as well as staff members for Rep’s Michaud and Pingree.

Since kicking off a one-week signature gathering effort last week, bus riders have used Facebook, Twitter, and email blasts to reach their goal of 2,500 petition signatures destined for the desks of every member of Congress. As of Monday morning they had collected 2,572 signatures on their website, www.MaineMoms.org , and more were still arriving.

The riders are hopeful that their actions will lead to support for the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011. Introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg, this bill is expected to be considered by the Environment and Public Works Committee later this month. This marks the first time a bill to fix what the moms call a ‘badly broken’ chemical safety system is being considered by a full Senate Committee.

Supporters say the Safe Chemicals Act will set right an upside-down system by requiring chemical companies to demonstrate the safety of their products using the best available science, creating market incentives for safer alternatives, and giving parents the best information possible about chemicals in products that children use every day.

In a vote of 128 to 4, state lawmakers in the Maine House voted to gave final passage to a measure that would protect students from bullying in Maine schools. The bill nearly passed into law in 2011 but was sent back to the Education Committee at the last minute in the face of opposition from the Christian Civic League.

“This is an incredible victory for Maine students,” said Morrison, who sponsored the bill and has strongly advocated for it after hearing from hundreds of students and parents in his district. “We have sent a strong message to students and parents across Maine: Bullying in our schools is unacceptable and we won’t tolerate it.”

The bill, LD 1237, “An Act to Prohibit Bullying and Cyberbullying in Schools,” requires the commissioner to develop a model policy to address bullying and cyberbullying for use in Maine schools. A copy of the model policy must be sent to each school administrative unit in the State and posted on the publicly accessible portion of the department’s website along with any training and instructional materials related to the policy.

In 2010, there were at least 14 suicides resulting from bullying nationally.

The National Education Association estimates that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. 71 percent of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school, and 56 percent of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.
The bill is expected to be approved in the Senate and must be signed into law by the governor.

In an initial vote of 74 to 69, Republican lawmakers in the Maine House of Representatives forced through budget cuts that will take away health care from more than 24,000 Maine seniors, children and working families, while also passing unfunded tax cuts for the wealthy. The vote in the Senate was 19 to 16, along party lines, too.

“The Republican budget cuts will do unnecessary harm to seniors and working families across our state,” said Rep. Peggy Rotundo, the lead Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “No Maine family should have to choose between putting food on the table or paying for medicine.”

The proposal will close an $80 million shortfall in the Department of Health and Human Services budget.

“This budget is riddled with disingenuous savings, hidden costs, and illegal proposals,” said Rep. Mark Eves, the lead House Democrat on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

The GOP proposal reduces access to medicine and medical care for more than 5,000 seniors; cuts Head Start early childhood education programs for 216 children and child care credits for 1,400 families; cuts funding to home visitation programs that help prevent domestic violence for 750 families in crisis; eliminates health care for 7,000 19 and 20 year olds; and reduces funding for women’s health and family planning by $400,000.

The Republican budget also includes nearly $10 million in cuts that are in violation of federal law.

“This budget is riddled with disingenuous savings, hidden costs, and illegal proposals,” said Rep. Mark Eves, the lead House Democrat on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

During the floor debate, Democratic lawmakers repeatedly called the GOP cuts “unnecessary and harmful.” They argued that a more than $50 million surplus of existing revenue should be used to blunt cuts to seniors and children.

“No senior with Lou Gehrig’s disease should be forced to choose between their medicine and heating their home,” said Rep. Paulette Beaudoin, during the floor debate. “We shouldn’t be taking money from the purse of an 84 year old grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s wrong and I won’t support it.”

Rep. Ann Peoples said “I don’t believe a working parent in Westbrook should have to quit a job because they no longer have child care. Mainers should be working their way into the middle class, not falling out of it.”

Since Friday, nearly 4,500 Maine people from across the state signed an online petition that was circulated by Rep. Jon Hinck, D-Portland against the GOP budget.

Rep. Helen Rankin, D-Hiram, who saw multiple constituents sign the petition said, “Without jobs or income parents must humble themselves to ask for help. There comes a time when you have to swallow your pride just to survive. After all is said and done, ‘we are our brother’s keeper.’ At least we should be.”

Republicans rejected nine Democratic amendments that would have prevented harm to seniors and children.

The GOP budget is the first partisan or “majority” budget since 2005. It failed to earn two-thirds support, and therefore, won’t go into effect for 90 days following adjournment.

Earlier in the day the Maine State Senate Republicans voted along party lines achieving the same objectives that hurt the people of Maine.

“This budget cuts Head Start… why as a state would we make this a priority?” asked Sen. Justin Alfond. “This budget is reckless”

“This was a rapid response operation in the face of harmful cuts backed by just one party and on a very short deadline,” Hinck said. “The petition has gone viral because many Mainers are taking this budget personally. It hurts people at a very difficult time and many see it as mean spirited.”A big crowd of budget opponents filled the halls between the two legislative chambers in Augusta this morning. Many people in the crowd stopped Representative Hinck to thank him for the petition.

Hinck said that the work done spreading his campaign message for his U.S. Senate campaign helped to jump start the effort. The petition was launched online at 2:00 p.m. on Friday May 11. By Monday morning, over 1,100 people had added their names to the petition. Many signers added their own thoughts. For example Jenny Radsma, PhD, RN of Fort Kent wrote:

“Health promotion and illness prevention require resources (e.g., skilled people and money for programming) but they do not cost as much as treatment of preventable illnesses and chronic conditions. Public health initiatives are already sorely underfunded and Maine legislators should be looking to expand funding for public health rather than decreasing it. Vote against Paul LePage’s dangerous budget proposals and stand up for Maine families. Many thanks.”

According to Hinck, the petition averaged 76 signers per hour on Monday. By 6:00 p.m. 1,701 people had added their names. “There are hundreds of thoughtful and respectful comments urging their legislators to reject the budget.” Hinck said. “Today I made sure each Representative and Senator had a copy of the petition on their desks along with the list of their constituents who signed.”

Every member of the State House and State Senate, regardless of their political affiliation, heard from their constituents as a result of the petition. Thousands more Mainers are having their petition delivered electronically as the Legislature tackles the issue. As of this release, another 1,800 people had signed the petition today and that number continues to grow at a rate of over 250 per hour today.

Hinck believes that proves the discontent being felt by many Maine voters. “The budget is distressing, I know how hard it will make things for so many people who are already struggling,” he added.

Before serving in the Legislature, Hinck was part of the legal team that prosecuted Maine’s landmark lawsuit against the tobacco companies. The settlement created the Fund for a Healthy Maine. At the time, the State agreed that the money would be dedicated to efforts to reduce smoking and support a healthy lifestyle.

With a planned party-line budget vote today, Maine Republicans are set to take an historic action. By ratifying Governor Paul LePage’s deep cuts to important health care programs and his giant new tax breaks that mainly benefit the wealthy, they are set to make Maine’s economic policy the most ideological and extreme of any state in the nation.

“The Republicans’ actions today are both ideologically extreme and morally reprehensible,” said Maine People’s Alliance executive director Jesse Graham. “No other state in the country has cut so deep into programs for those who are suffering the most while at the same time giving such large tax breaks to those who are the most well-off.”

The proposed budget for the Department of Health and Human Services includes cuts to family planning services, Head Start, Drugs for the Elderly, the Fund for a Healthy Maine and MaineCare.

“This budget does not represent Maine values,” said Benjamin Dudley, the executive director of Engage Maine and the convener of the Maine Can Do Better coalition. “People in every community in our state will be hurt. This isn’t reform and it isn’t leadership. It’s not about making things better for the people of Maine.”

The proposed budget includes:
• Cuts to MaineCare that will deny access to health insurance to more than more than 21,000 parents and young adults;
• Cuts to the Drugs for the Elderly Program, which helps seniors and people with disabilities afford prescription drugs;
• Cuts to the Medicare Savings Program, which helps seniors and people with disabilities pay for prescription drugs and health care costs.
• Cuts to the Child Care Subsidy Program;
• Cuts to the Maine Families Home Visiting Program, which helps Maine’s most vulnerable infants and children;
• Cuts to family planning;
• Cuts to funding for dental services for people with low incomes and no other source of dental health;
• Cuts to Head Start, that will deny access to the program to more than 200 very young children.

Many states have cut back during the recession, but only a few have cut so deeply into vital health care and assistance services as has Maine. Today’s vote, for instance, will cut foster care, remove seniors from the Drugs for the Elderly Program and shut down head start programs across Maine.

Where Maine stands alone is in the area of new tax cuts. Only a handful of states in the country have cut taxes during the economic recession and none have given the wealthy as big a hand-out as has Maine.[1] The income and estate tax cuts are expected to cost the state $200 million in the current biennium and $400 million in the next, with more than 50% of the benefits going to the wealthiest 10%.[2] That’s larger as a share of government revenue than cuts enacted by any other state in the country. In Florida, for instance, where Governor Rick Scott has often been cited for being ideologically extreme, new tax cuts will cost the state only $12 million in 2012 and $29 million in subsequent years.

“Today, Maine completes the sharpest right-turn of any state in the Country,” said Graham. “These policies don’t represent Maine values and we’re going to make sure that voters in November understand exactly how extreme their Representatives have been.”

1. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3550
2. Maine center for Economic Policy – http://www.mecep.org/view.asp?news=1417

The Democratic lawmakers proposal includes a cost-saving MaineCare restructuring initiative that will deliver more efficient health care services; a cost-saving provider-fraud recovery program, and also increases funding for the state’s rainy day fund.

The Democratic legislators solution transfers $60 million in increased revenue re-projections from 2012 and 2013 budgets to help close the gap. They also provide approximately $28 million in savings initiatives, including a provider fraud recovery savings of $5 million, salary savings of $1 million, a MaineCare restructuring task force that projects a savings of $10 million, approximately $8 million in revenue transfers from other accounts, the restructuring of Health and Human Services, and other additional items.

The Democratic lawmakers propose to transfer $5 million into the state’s rainy day fund or the budget stabilization account and pay for the operating costs of the Dolby Landfill. That measure would leave about a $651,485 surplus balance.

Members of the Democratic caucus believe that the GOP proposal unnecessarily removes access to health care and services for thousands of children and seniors, while adding to the state’s unfunded tax cuts. Last year, a tax cut was passed that left a $400 million gap. In addition, the new cuts will cost $34 million in the next biennial budget.

The LePage administration proposal also relies on risky waivers from the federal government, which we’ve already been told won’t be allowed. It books millions of dollars in savings on waivers that the federal government already said would be rejected because they violate federal law.

Portland, Maine, Mayor Michael Brennan voiced concern over the proposed thirty percent cut to programs funded by the Fund for a Healthy Maine (FHM) and administered by the City of Portland. FHM, funds received by the state from the Master Tobacco Settlement, are the only dollars dedicated to prevent chronic disease and health promotion in Maine. While details are not complete, the Republican Legislative Leadership budget proposal calls for cuts of at least $250,000 to city programs specifically Healthy Maine Partnerships, school-based health centers and home visitation.

“As a legislator, I was proud to be a part of the effort to invest the monies coming from the tobacco settlement into programs that would prevent disease and help Mainers live healthy and active lives, and as Mayor, I see the direct benefit of these investments in our community,” stated Mayor Brennan. “This simple fact of the matter is that the old adage penny wise and pound foolish applies to these cuts. For every dollar the state has invested in these prevention efforts, Maine has saved approximately $7.50 in costs, the highest return of investment for any state in the country.”

Brennan served in Maine’s state senate where he worked extensively on health issues.

“Healthy families are the key to a healthy economy. Children do better in school, workers are more productive and businesses can add jobs because their health care costs are lower. I consistently hear from businesses leaders that healthcare costs are holding them back from expanding. If we want to be aggressive about building our economy for the future we need to adopt policies that help businesses control these costs and investments in prevention and health promotion are key,” said Brennan.

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American health care system currently spends $238 billion per year in excess costs. These costs are associated with the cost of care for people with preventable chronic disease like type2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke. More than half of those costs are financed through Medicare and Medicaid.

Two of the three leading causes of preventable death, tobacco and obesity, cost Mainers millions of dollars each year. Medical expenditures attributable to obesity have been estimated at approximately $767 million dollars per year. The annual healthcare costs in Maine directly caused by smoking totals approximately $602 million each year. On average, tobacco and obesity related medical expenses cost each Maine household approximately $2,523 every year. Chronic conditions associated with preventable causes are expensive to treat, but relatively inexpensive to prevent.

The budget proposal calls for $185,000 in cuts to the city’s Healthy Maine Partnerships, Healthy Portland and Healthy Casco Bay. These programs are community coalitions that focus on preventing tobacco use, eliminating involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke, increasing physical activity, and improving nutrition. Beyond the direct health benefit, the Healthy Maine Partnerships in Cumberland County have been able to bring in more than $ 4.5 million of additional local, state and federal prevention dollars to the region.

More than 3,500 students receive primary health care at one of the city’s six school based health centers. These centers ensure that all Portland youth have access to health care. Should the proposed cuts be approved two of these clinics would be closed, thereby eliminating health care coverage for hundreds of children.

The impact of the proposed cuts to FHM would result in a 14% reduction of funding for the city’s Home Visitation program, which serves three hundred and fifty families annually with home visits and nine hundred families per year with support groups. This program helps to ensure that from birth Maine children’s health is a priority.