House Republican Minority Leader Rose Pugliese speaks at the special legislative session last week. (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post)
Republicans argue Democrats used the passage of HR-1 as political cover to rush into a special session, even though the Joint Budget Committee told lawmakers in June to expect a high-figure budget deficit in the next budget cycle.
Colorado Democrats, for their part, blame Republicans in Washington, D.C. for the state shortfall. The legislature authorized $4.4 million in state Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood through S.B. 25B‑2, which requires state Medicaid to step in with reimbursements for reproductive healthcare providers, to cover what HR- 1 cut.
When HR-1 took effect in July, it immediately prohibited the use of federal Medicaid funds at Planned Parenthood for one year. The law also introduced stricter Medicaid rules, including more frequent eligibility checks, new work requirements and tighter enrollment standards.
"Colorado Democrats have responsibly picked up the pieces from Trump and Washington Republicans’ big, ugly budget, which any one of the GOP members of our congressional delegation could have stopped," Democrat House Speaker Julie McCluskie said in a statement. "Their bill gave corporations massive tax cuts that blew a billion dollar hole in our budget. We took a balanced approach that closed corporate tax loopholes, established a process to cut some spending, and used some of our rainy-day savings to protect funding for health care, roads and education."
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Colorado Democrats blamed D.C. Republicans for their budget deficit. (Tony Savino/Corbis )
"And in the last budget cycle, the House Republicans had proposed close to $1 billion worth of spending that could be cut in our budget," Pugliese said. "And of course, none of those amendments made it into the budget."
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"I think the overall theme is, we spent money that we didn't have, and now our budget deficit is bigger," she added.
Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/colorado-democrats-steer-millions-planned-parenthood-multi-million-dollar-deficit-looms