“It was with no small amount of agonizing that I decided to vote against the 2016 supplemental budget deal reached over the weekend.
I appreciate all the hard work that went into putting together this agreement, but the reallocation of $11 million in much needed mental health care funding for Southwest Washington is more than I could bear to support.
I’m quite aware that in budget negotiations, you often do not get everything you want. In my view, mental health care funding for Clark County and the surrounding area is not a want… it is a high priority for the health and safety of our communities.
Having been a chemical dependency counselor for 30 years I know first-hand the struggles our region is going through in regards to mental health. I worked hard to ensure our region got a fair cut of these important dollars to help us assist those that need care.
In the final deal, these funds were taken from our region and delivered elsewhere.
As this budget is not friendly to the needs of Southwest Washington, in regards to the critical issue of mental health care funding, I decided to vote no.” – Rep. Jim Moeller (D-Vancouver)