Page 32 - Flathead Beacon // 4.8.15

32 | APRIL 8, 2015 OPINION
LETTERS
COMPACT BRINGS SECURITY TO MONTANA
Lost in all the false rhetoric about the CSKT compact is the good and positive it brings to Montana.
First and foremost it protects junior water users from having to object to the very senior claims of the CSKT tribe but beyond that it brings more years than we can guess to water security in Western Montana. It secures 90,000 acre feet of water in Hungry Horse for use solely in Montana. That means down river states cannot take that away from us. This is water that has never been available to Montana.
It creates co-ownership of water rights with Fish Wild Life and Parks. There is no co regulatory authority. The co-owned instream flow rights will continue to be managed by FWP. There is no federal control and no additional water in these rights.
There is no change in regulatory authority off the reservation. There is no additional control by the federal government. The DNRC continues to manage off reservation water issues.
On reservation the state still has input on new uses on the reservation. This occurs on no other reservation in the state as the other tribes have sole authority for new uses on their reservations.
As has been done in other state-tribal compacts money is put into securing water for irrigators on the reservation by spending money on improving irrigation infrastructure. It also guarantees the low block of power for irrigators to help keep down the cost of irrigation to the tune of about $300,000. This is not a cost to tax payers. Protections are put in place to guarantee irrigators receive historic amounts of irrigation water. Drought water sharing practices are put in place. Protections are given to irrigators that would otherwise lose water to endangered bull trout.
The CSKT compact brings water
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security to Montana.
Susan Lake Ronan
Just a few short weeks ago, a new concept for Medicaid expansion was brought before the Legislature that some claim is a “collaborative effort” exemplifying statesmanship. The bill has been lauded as a “compromise” that will benefit tens of thousands of Montanans if enacted. But while policymakers get caught up in the emotional cloud that dominates the debate surrounding Medicaid expansion, it’s important to keep things in perspective – particularly the long-term sustainability of any plan that the legislature chooses to adopt.
First, it’s important to recognize that SB 405 is not a compromise. When numerous amendments were offered to improve the proposal, the sponsor, after acknowledging that the amendments were good, asked the Senate to reject each and every one of them. Does that sound like “compromise” to you?
Second, regardless of the proponent’s claim that SB 405 is a “Republican solution,” it is the implementation of Obamacare,plainandsimple–something few Montanans are eager to support. SB 405 accepts hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds offered through the Affordable Care Act to create a new entitlement program. And, in addition to spending hundreds of millions of dollars to expand entitlements, SB 405 also creates a massive new state bureaucracy that will cost the state millions of dollars every year in administrative costs alone. Simply put, SB 405 is uniquely this country’s most enhanced Medicaid expansion proposal yet. But can we really rely on federal money to be there to pay for it?
The federal funds that cover a portion of the costs of Medicaid expansion have proven to be laden with restrictions. We already know that these particular funds will be reduced after the first few years, and the program is expected to cost the state of Montana almost $40 million by the year 2020, with that number increasing exponentially every year after the federal funds go away.
Proponents of full Medicaid expansion vilify the legislators who want to ensure prudent management of the program by falsely claiming these legislators are “attacking the poor” because they choose not to vote in favor of blindly throwing money at the problem. Even though many members of the Legislature will not vote for full expansion of Medicaid, it’s important to remember that real Republican alternatives are currently still in play.
House Bill 455, introduced by Rep. Nancy Ballance, would cover nearly 10,000 low-income Montanans currently unable to receive coverage under Medicaid. That bill would expand coverage eligibility to the blind, disabled, young parents and veterans. Unfortunately, those legislators rushing to get their hands on the federal dollars cannot see the benefit of a proposal that targets public resources to help the most
vulnerable in our communities.
We must be cautious when
formulating our public policies. Creating a massiveprogramthatthrowsmoneyatthe problem is not responsible policymaking, and will almost certainly put our state’s financial health in jeopardy. SB 405 is not an example of a Republican solution, and to claim otherwise is insulting. It’s time that proponents of full Medicaid expansion drop their “take-it-or-leave-it” mentality and consider for the first time a true compromise.
Sen. Debby Barrett, R-Dillon State Senate president
REPUBLICANS SHOULD BE PROUD OF KRUEGER
I keep reading articles about Gary Krueger being severely criticized by his own Republican Party extremists. He is suffering the same fate as Cal Scott did. They both rose to the occasion and decided to serve all the people, Republicans and Democrats alike, when they became county commissioners, but instead of being acclaimed for their integrity in doing so they are denigrated by an ideological lunatic fringe that controls their party. Where are the moderates who abandoned Cal Scott and who are not coming to Gary Krueger’s rescueeither?
I am not a Republican but I have known Cal Scott for many years in business as well as a county commissioner and have had time to get to know Gary Krueger recently and they are the brightest tandem to ever hold office as Flathead County Commissioners. Cal was defeated by his own party in the last primary election but will hopefully try again. And I hope Gary runs again when his present term is up and he does not suffer the same fate as Cal. The citizenry that labels themselves Republicans should be proud of both of them, as the rest of us are. At one time Joe Brenneman, a Democrat, also rose to the occasion and represented all the people of Flathead County as its commissioner. It is how county government should be run.
I suggest you moderate, reasonable Republicans take your party back, once and for all, from the ideology extremists who have hijacked it.
Bill Baum Badrock Canyon
CORRECTION
A story in the April 1 Flathead Beacon, “Electric Cooperative Trustees Gear Up for Annual Election,” stated that ballots should be returned to the cooperative by April 10. The mail-in ballots should actually be returned to JCCS Accounting by April 10. Each ballot has a postage- paid envelope that is already addressed to JCCS.
IS ENHANCING EXPANSION OF OBAMACARE CONSERVATIVE?
Over the legislative session, there have been numerous proposals presented to the Legislature that can aptly be described as “take-it-or-leave-it.” The CSKT Water Compact, the governor’s infrastructure proposal, the governor’s proposal to expand Medicaid, and the governor’s state pay-plan are all examples of policies that the Legislature was expected to rubber stamp, without any changes. But one proposal tops all others when it comes to the audacity of a “take- it-or-leave-it” offer – Senate Bill 405.