California Veterans Celebrate National Holiday by Joining Seniors and Disabled in Protesting Schwarzenegger Budget Cuts

"This isn't belt-tightening and sacrifice; it's a tourniquet, a desperate measure by a Governor who has squandered the political will and fiscal sense that could have fixed the state's unstable budget system," said Marty Omoto, Director and Organizer of CA Disability Community Action (CDCAN).

IHSS is a statewide public program providing essential personal care and domestic services to approximately 429,000 aged, blind or disabled Californians who are unable to remain safely in their own homes without such assistance.

"This is a program where the Federal government matches the state's commitment and we're walking away from millions of dollars in funding," said John Wilkins, an IHSS consumer in Fresno County and Co-Chair of the Quality Homecare Coalition. "Local and regional governments are left holding the bag. This is exactly the type of short-sighted budget process that put California in this fiscal crisis to begin with. I hope the Governor recognizes he has proven himself a reckless and irresponsible fiscal manager, even worse than former governors he mocked before running for the office in 2003."

"While we recognize the dire fiscal situation of the California state budget, it is inexcusable for the Governor to sacrifice the health and welfare of seniors and people with disabilities and their caregivers with these devastating budget cut proposals," said home care provider Ed Huddleston of Merced, a veteran and a member of the United Domestic Workers of America.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has yet again proposed drastic cuts ($348.9 million this year and over $1 billion next year) to cash assistance for low-income elderly, blind or disabled consumers who depend on two vital programs: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplementary Program (SSP).

The Governor also plans to slash the fixed incomes of approximately 1.3 million Californians who are elderly, blind, or have disabilities, and who depend on SSI/SSP grants to survive. The current SSI/SSP grant is only $870 for an individual and $1,524 for a couple. People who depend on SSI are supposed to pay for all their needs – food, shelter, utilities, and transportation – out of this amount. The Governor has proposed cutting SSI/SSP grants to $830 for an individual and $1,407 for a couple.

"Taking that money away from poor Californians won't have a great effect on California's budget but it will have a grim effect on the people who rely on it to survive," said Frances Gracechild, Executive Director of Resources for Independent Living Centers and Co-Chair of the Quality Homecare Coalition. "Approximately 78 percent of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) consumers receive SSI/SSP. California's SSI/SSP recipients are not eligible for food stamps – so the loss of the federal SSI COLA will not be balanced with food stamp benefits as is done in many other states."

The Legislative Analyst's Office analysis has suggested in the past that the Governor's funding freeze would jeopardize the IHSS program by making it difficult to retain quality home care workers. In addition to rolling back work pay to minimum wage, a number of care providers would lose their health insurance due to inadequate funding.

"It is difficult to believe that the Governor should have such a complete lack of understanding about how difficult it will be for IHSS workers as a result of frozen wages and lack of healthcare benefits," said Jerry Williams, a Sutter County IHSS provider, member of SEIU 4034/AFSCME and twenty-year veteran of the National Guard. "If he could live for just one week in our shoes, he would see things differently and revise his proposals."

"We have lobbied the Governor continuously about his cuts and funding freezes, and he continues to ignore our pleas," said Bill Powers of the California Alliance for Retired Americans.