PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Gov. Don Carcieri has made plenty of enemies trying to fix a budget deficit that could hit $600 million -- maybe more.
So far, he's proposed limiting welfare benefits for children, furloughing state workers, restricting health care coverage for the poor and children who aren't American citizens, cutting millions of dollars in state funding to cities and towns and even fining motorists who drive while talking on handheld cell phones.
That was the easy part.
After putting forward a plan two weeks ago to address a $151 million deficit in the current budget year, the Republican governor will make public a spending plan Friday that balances a deficit that's estimated to be between $384 million and $450 million for the coming fiscal year, which starts in July. The state will have to cut at least 11 percent of its current spending to close the gap.
Labor union leaders, social services advocates, even a prominent Republican mayor have criticized Carcieri's financial plans. But Darrell West, a professor of political science at Brown University, said Carcieri has already won a big victory: Key Democratic lawmakers have said they are against major tax increases, just like Carcieri.
"All the leaders are agreeing to cut, the only question is where," West said. "Any specific cut is a minefield. The social service advocates don't want their area cut. Cities and towns don't want any cuts. Ultimately, the General Assembly is going to have to cut."
Before announcing a budget that Carcieri has said will contain more cuts, he took time Wednesday to explain his proposal for cutting welfare spending and restructuring the state Medicaid program, which offers health care for the elderly and poor.
Carcieri blames increasing Medicaid costs for contributing to Rhode Island's financial problems.
"The costs of those services that we're providing are spiraling at a rate that we cannot sustain," he said.
Under his plan, state agencies would screen almost 11,800 patients referred to nursing homes every year to determine if some could remain at home if they had additional support, such as visiting nurses, assistance taking medication, or delivered meals.
In the coming budget year, Carcieri's administration is hoping that 10 percent of those patients, or about 1,800 people, could instead receive care at home or elsewhere, Department of Human Services Director Gary Alexander said.
The governor also announced more details on his plan to cut welfare spending. In addition to capping welfare benefits at two years, instead of five, Carcieri said his upcoming budget will require welfare recipients to start looking for work before getting state money.
"The best road out of poverty for anyone is a good job," Carcieri said.
He also wants the state government to partner with nonprofit and religious groups to encourage unwed parents receiving welfare to marry, theorizing that two-income families are more financially stable than single parents and less likely to need state help.
Not all of Carcieri's budget plans -- including his proposal for Medicaid -- will necessary become law.
For example, changing the Medicaid program requires permission from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Carcieri has not yet submitted the paperwork. A CMMS spokeswoman said the process can take anywhere from weeks to months.
More importantly, lawmakers in the Democratic-dominated General Assembly often overturn, or at least limit, some of the Republican governor's more controversial budget plans. House Speaker William Murphy and Senate President Joseph Montalbano had not reviewed Carcieri's proposals and would not comment, their spokesmen said.
