In a letter to the editor recently, Rep. Rick Berg, R-Fargo, who is the North Dakota House majority leader, praised Rep. Jeff Delzer, R-Underwood, for his work as chairman of the Appropriations Human Services budget committee. I, along with hundreds of human service employees and staff people, disagree.
Delzer is an ultra-conservative legislator with no regard for the unfortunate people of North Dakota. He turned a deaf ear on those people who testified to the needs of the disabled, the Developmental Center and State Mental Hospital. He agreed to the taking of $1 million from the Developmental Center's 95 percent budget and also $2 million removed from the state hospital's budget. The $1 million taken from the Developmental Center's budget leveraged $3 million of federal funds.
The governor proposed a reasonable budget but legislators like Delzer tore it apart without any basic reason.
I believe Berg only wrote the letter to the editor to preserve his majority leadership position.
Sen. Harvey Tallackson
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D-Grafton, N.D.
