With a membership of 800,000 parishioners... the fifth largest Catholic school system in the US... and the largest Catholic Charities operation in the country, the Cleveland Diocese has a strong impact on the lives of many Ohioans, whether Catholic or not.
Speaking to the lawmakers, Bishop Richard Lennon argued that the Ohio spending plan has a disproportionate impact on vulnerable and marginalized groups such as children, the elderly, and the mentally disabled. He called for the restoration of a number of budget lines that the Governor either reduced or eliminated. Referencing proposed Medicaid cuts, Lennon noted that two local Catholic healthcare facilities will each lose a million dollars in reimbursements.
BISHOP LENNON: Facilities that are located in high poverty areas of our community, with a high concentration of residents who are on Medicaid, are the ones that will suffer the most.
The Bishop said budget hawks should look to streamlining administrative costs, and boost funding for food assistance, housing and mental health. While acknowledging the need for everyone to tighten their belts, Catholic Charities President Patrick Gareau suggested that the Governor made his cuts based on numbers instead of good public policy.
Strongsville Republican Tom Patton who sits on the Ohio Senate's Finance committee says he's sympathetic to such arguments, but under state law, he and his colleagues are mandated to balance the budget.
TOM PATTON: It's just a real tough balancing act. We can't pretend that we have a credit card that we can use to borrow for the future. We've got to spend the dollar the smartest way possible.
The Ohio House is currently reviewing the Kasich budget. From there, it goes to the Senate and then then back to the Governor by the third week in June. In the meantime, lawmakers are holding a series of public hearings to get further input on what programs get cut...and which ones survive.
