A House budget plan approved just before Thanksgiving would save $50 billion over five years by imposing new fees on Medicaid recipients, squeezing food stamp and child care programs and slashing the budgets of child support recovery agencies.
Republican leaders have said the spending cuts are needed to reduce the deficit.
But $63 billion in House-proposed tax breaks exceed the value of the cuts, claims Karen Crompton, director of the advocacy group Utah Children, which she says underscores the hypocrisy of that argument.
"I'm not sure how this reduces the deficit," said Crompton. She and a half-dozen advocates held a news conference Thursday at a YWCA day care in Salt Lake City to assail the House plan and speak in favor of a more "family-friendly" Senate proposal.
House and Senate staff members have spent past weeks behind closed doors trying to come to consensus. Final votes are expected this month.
Other states stand to lose more than fiscally conservative Utah, say advocates. It's possible no one here will feel a squeeze on food stamps, considering fewer than half of the state's eligible residents use them.
But advocates predict Utah would be hurt by the House proposal, which they say would:
* Translate to $167 million in uncollected child support payments over 10 years; with most of the money owed to low-income single, working mothers.
* Result in higher co-payments and premiums for children and others on Medicaid.
* Reduce subsidies for parents who need help paying for child care, as well as limit enrollment in Head Start education programs.
* Force a scale-back in food pantry operating hours and the suspension of meal deliveries to thousands of families in crisis.
"The House budget gives new meaning to the phrase, women and children first," said Crompton.
Of top concern for Crompton is a proposed $110 million hit to Utah's Child Support Enforcement system. In 2004, agents recovered $140.6 million in unpaid child support for 58,241 children. They did so on a lean budget, spending $1 for every $4.08 collected.
Punishing an agency for its efficiency is bad policy, especially considering research showing a correlation between unpaid child support and reliance on welfare and other supports, said Crompton.
Jim Pugh, who oversees the Utah Food Bank, is worried about preserving Utah's $3.7 million Community Services Block Grant, which is used to leverage millions of dollars for the state's food pantries.
"There are certain things no one should do without. Food is one of those," said Pugh.
Others, including Primary Children's Medical Center pediatrician Mike Miescier, oppose giving states permission to charge child Medicaid recipients higher fees.
Currently, they pay a $3 co-payment for doctor visits and prescriptions. Under the House plan, parents could spent up to 5 percent of their annual income on co-payments and premiums. For a family of three earning less than $18,000 a year, the charges could total $900.
