DENVER-
Money for the state’s troubled welfare benefits computer system would be used to improve veterans homes under a plan approved Wednesday as the Senate began work on Colorado’s $17.8 billion budget.
Some facilities across the state lack phone service and fire alarms, lawmakers said, adding that former soldiers deserve better treatment in the wake of a scandal in Washington following revelations of poor outpatient health care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The Senate also approved a plan to provide money for breakfast for low-income children.
Other programs and proposals didn’t survive, including a plan to give county jails more money for housing state prisoners and a proposal to give more money for merit based college grants, with senators saying the state didn’t have the money.
Other casualties included an amendment that would have given the Colorado State University System an additional $34 million tuition spending authority, providing scholarships for low-income students.
Associated Students of Colorado State University, a coalition of CSU students, opposed that plan, saying it would effectively increase tuition for full-time, in-state students by 43 percent.
Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, said there are 600 veterans in veterans homes across the state that need attention, including Rifle, Monte Vista, Florence, Walsenburg, Aurora and one state nursing home located in Trinidad.
“I’m here to tell you we have issues in our nursing homes in the state of Colorado,” he told the Senate.
However, the Senate rejected his proposal to take money from fees for attorneys and put it in the veterans fund.
Instead, they voted to take money from the Colorado Benefits Management System to provide $218,256 to the Colorado State Veterans Trust Fund.
Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, said it is shortsighted to take money from the troubled computer system because that money is needed to train counties to use it.
The $200 million Colorado Benefits Management System, or CBMS, went online in 2004 even though some counties complained they weren’t ready to make the switch. It was blamed for causing a backlog of nearly 30,000 cases. A judge ordered the state to clear up the problems or face sanctions.
The system is responsible for processing welfare benefits that include Medicaid, food stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.
