opinion

Facing the worst deficit in Minnesota history, state lawmakers worked together to make necessary budget cuts while protecting jobs, the middle class, the sick, the elderly and the disabled. That budget was balanced. It maintained our quality of life and laid the groundwork for Minnesota's economic recovery.

Still, Gov. Tim Pawlenty chose to make deeper, more painful cuts to those who can least afford it. With one line-item veto, he eliminated medical care for 30,000 of Minnesota's poorest, sickest citizens. The governor's own health commissioner called them "the poorest of the poor, and the sickest of the sick."

Too often we pass the poor on the street, or witness the homeless on the news, and never stop to see their faces or consider their stories. We simply pass them by.

Minnesotans who lost health care to the governor's veto earn less than $8,000 per year. Seventy percent suffer from mental illness or chemical dependency. Many are veterans who served this country bravely but who now live under bridges. Many more are senior citizens, and 40 percent have a chronic disease that isn't going away when they lose health care.

More than medical care for the sick and poor, the governor's veto cost our hospitals $381 million in state funding and additional matching federal funds. Those cuts could result in the loss of 8,000 jobs -- making this recession even more painful for thousands of Minnesota families.

Without doubt, this one veto cut at the soul of Minnesota, and it tested the resolve of state leaders to maintain their commitment to serving the least among us.

As mothers, women of faith and Minnesotans, we voted to override that veto -- but that attempt fell three votes short.

Just hours later, a vote was taken to override the governor's veto of a bill that asked Minnesota's highest earners, those who are doing well right now despite the recession, to pay just $9 more per month until our economy gets better. Every dime would have been dedicated solely to minimize cuts to our hospitals, nursing homes and schools.

That attempt fell short as well.

Now even more cuts need to be made -- cuts that will cost more jobs and cause more pain. The governor has indicated he wants to do that work alone.

Whether Pawlenty includes the Legislature in that work or not, we plan to continue our commitment to serving our communities and every citizen of this state -- no matter how poor or rich. We ask the governor to carefully consider the input and concerns of every Minnesotan and weigh the human consequences of any further budget cuts.

Denise Dittrich, DFL-Champlin, and Maria Ruud, DFL-Minnetonka, are members of the Minnesota House of Representatives.