Hundreds of protesters are rallying at the State House to protest Gov. Paul LePage's proposed cuts to Medicaid, Head Start and other programs.
Addressing the ralliers, who packed the Hall of Flags (left), Jill Saxby of the Maine Council of Churches said that "budgets are moral documents" that can be judged by how they treat the most vulnerable.
"Are we going to stick together now now matter what?" she asked the cheering crowd. "Can we overcome fear? Can we overcome inequality? Can we do this? Can Maine do better?"
"Yes!" members of the crowd shouted back.
"Amen," Saxby said.
The Maine Council of Churches has issued a statement opposing the cuts, which has been signed so far by more than 500 people. The group is planning to continue its State House vigil for the next three days while lawmakers hold hearings on LePage's proposals.
The governor says Maine must cut its Medicaid rolls to balance the state budget. He says Medicaid enrollment has grown far faster than the state's population, and is unsustainable.
LePage is proposing to knock 65,000 people off the rolls to close a $220 million gap between expenses and what the state has budgeted for Medicaid over the next 18 months.
This story was reported by Susan Sharon.
Photo by Susan Sharon.