Advocate: Help Preserve a Safety Net for Those in Need in Washington
April26,2013
by Jennifer Ibach
From the Washington State Catholic Conference website (thewscc.org):
"The 2013 Legislature has moved into the budget phase of the session facing a $1.2 billion deficit. On April 5th, the Senate passed a $33.2 billion budget for the 2013-15 biennium. The House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the House’s proposed $34.5 billion biennial budget. It is expected to be considered by all House members in the next couple of days.
Both budgets allocate significant funding to address the McCleary decision, which requires increased funding of public K-12 education. The Senate budget proposes an increase of $1.5 billion for public education, and the House increases it by $1.4 billion.
Safety net programs were substantially cut in the Senate budget including the Housing and Essential Needs (HEN), the Aged Blind and Disabled (ABD), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) programs. The House budget did not reduce the present level of funding in these programs. TANF received funding enhancements in the House budget, but not in the Senate’s. While the state Food Assistance Program received partial funding restoration in the Senate budget, the restoration was not funded in the House proposal. The capital budget proposals both include funding for low-income housing in the Housing Trust Fund, though the House appropriation is higher than the Senate.