Budget uncertainty in Congress is leaving states like Delaware unsure of funding it’s come to rely on. This comes as Gov. John Carney is set to announce his budget proposal this week.
Carney said some of his priorities include jobs, education and public safety. But he said the new tax law passed by Congress last year will mean Delaware collects less in income tax revenue.
“It’s going to be a net revenue loss for the state, right," he said. "The question is what’s the number? Original estimate that Secretary of Finance Geisenberger’s come up with is could be $30 million. Which is, I mean it’s $30 million, it’s a fair amount of money, but it’s not the end of the world.”
There’s also the issue of the federal government’s share of healthcare funding that goes to states and possible changes to Medicaid funding.
“If they cut some of that, which they’ve talked about doing or or reducing eligibility, that’s mostly for the population that was expanded under the Affordable Care Act, that couldn’t help but hurt us," he said. "Who knows 10, 20, $30 million.”
Carney told state legislators this week he wants to invest more in areas like education, benefits for state workers and the Port of Wilmington. But Republican lawmakers said they’re concerned about some of the potential costs of these initiatives.
Congress has yet to pass a full year’s budget. Republican members of Congress have proposed a short-term spending plan that would give health care funding to kids in the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
But it doesn’t fund community health centers like Westside Family Healthcare. Westside closed its Middletown facility last November partly because of concerns about federal funding.
