Members of the House launched a flurry of amendments Friday aimed at holding the governor accountable for not delivering a proposal to finance the state’s planned universal health care program.
The amendments they tried to attach to a tax bill and the budget bill reflect growing frustration in the Legislature with the Shumlin administration’s decision to hold off on the specifics of health care reform until the next biennium.
Rep. Cynthia Browning, D-Arlington, attempted to include an amendment that would call on the Ways and Means Committee to subpoena the administration’s work on a financing plan for Green Mountain Care, as the program is known.
House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morrisville, ruled Browning’s amendment was non-germane to the underlying bill. Representatives called for a vote on the speaker’s decision, which was upheld.
Browning this month sent a public records request to the Agency of Human Services seeking whatever work the administration has done on developing tax mechanisms to raise revenue for Green Mountain Care.
That request was rejected, and Browning has appealed it to Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding. Browning said if her request is denied she’s prepared to go to court.
Browning has been joined by Republicans who have cast Shumlin as derelict for not presenting a financing plan for Green Mountain Care, which was statutorily required in January 2013.
Their ire was ratcheted up earlier this month, when the governor backed away from a pledge to present his plan before this session ended.
Republicans introduced two amendments to the budget bill that would have curtailed spending on activities related to the implementation of Green Mountain Care until the plan is released. One gave the administration a $250,000 allowance to continue its work, but would’ve cut off funding after that.
Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, who sits on the Green Mountain Care Board’s advisory committee, said that committee is concerned that if aspects of the plan to transition to a universal health care system continue to be delayed, the board won’t have the time properly evaluate them.
“That adds to the problems and issues being raised, by the fact that what’s supposed to be done to make this a rational, evaluated rollout isn’t happening,” she told members of her caucus as they prepared to return to the floor. “Without a stop saying you cannot continue deferring this, it’s just setting us up for disaster.”
Both amendments were ultimately defeated on the House floor.
Rep. Mike Fisher, D-Lincoln, said in floor speech that the administration has delivered a financing plan to lawmakers, and while he understands some legislators might have wanted more detail, it’s inaccurate to say Shumlin didn’t deliver.
Fisher also said there is no reason to rush the state’s transition to a public universal health care system.
“I object to the concept that (not having a financing plan) puts a time-crunch on us,” the Health Care Committee chairman said. “There is no launch date for Green Mountain Care other than when we’re ready to take action.”
The House eventually passed an amendment offered by Rep. Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, that calls for no part of Green Mountain Care be “operationalized” until the administration presents a plan recommending specific amounts and necessary mechanisms to finance the program.
There was some confusion among the members about the term operationalize, but Johnson explained that it referred to implementation as well smaller steps along the way.
“I want to make sure that we don’t cut off money for planning, because we don’t have a plan,” she told the Republican House caucus, before returning to the floor.
While they were civil during the caucus, Johnson’s colleagues from across the aisle lambasted the amendment as a hollow gesture once it reached the floor.
“It does nothing and is not worth the paper it’s written on,” Donahue said. “It would be better to do nothing than to do nothing under the guise of doing something.”
The amendment passed 86-47. The House went on to approve the underlying budget bill 89-36.
