Krusin' the Capitol
By Nebraska State Senator Lowen Kruse
2003
Week 6
February 15, 2003
Hi--
My shovel dug into some heavy snow today. Yabba Dabba Doo. May the
moisture keep coming!
Our state climatologist (you spell it) said this week that if the past dry
conditions continue there will be no grass in western Nebraska this summer.
Which means fewer cattle. Many persons are not close enough to cattle
operations to realize those prize herds have been built up for several
generations. One rancher put out $40,000 last summer to rent pasture and buy
hay to keep his herd. Can't keep that up.
So something to celebrate. I am determined to find good news this week,
after all the grim stuff I have unloaded on you. Almost slipped back into
the dismal. We did hear this week from an agency that cannot cut, must have
an additional $46 million the next two years to meet obligations, and another
that requests a plus $100 million. Argh. So on with better news.
We heard back this week from our medical research institutions on how they
used the $10 million we gave them last year from the tobacco settlement $$$.
Wow!
The four research systems are the Med Center in Omaha, Creighton University,
UNL, and Boys Town Research Hospital. With the year only part over, they
have obtained well over the ten million in outside grants, and have recruited
and employed 73 persons, including about a dozen top researchers who have
been "stolen" from labs in other states.
The human genome project is the big one. Researchers are seeking the genetic
basis of diseases such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, osteo,
cancer and cardiovascular problems. For starters, they went from 200 mice to
13,000. Mice genes are 80% like yours and mine. I muttered "Oh Boy" as this
was reported, which created a ripple chuckle in the hearing room.
The genome project will make the papers, but all the new equipment which
several labs have devised for other projects will not. We will have some new
patents on devices which make data more accessible.
The other targets in the new research $$$ are prostate cancer, infant
mortality, cataracts, breast cancer, Native American health, childhood
disorders, diabetic heart disease, urologic cancer, Alzheimer's, speech
pathology, cell biology, minority health, Usher Syndrome, neglected children
behavior, and a whole range of cell biology.
Several states have plugged their deficit with their tobacco $$$. We
invested ours, which produces $50 million every year and gives us a big
competitive advantage with other states. The Feds are regularly offering
large grants to develop research in specific health areas and we are into
them big time.
We also heard how small nonprofit groups in the state are using the small
grants we offered for providing health aids and education to our citizens.
We now have a Public Health Committee in every county except one. The main
mission is preventative, to reduce health costs. The nonprofits give a big
bang for the buck. We provide the materials, they provide the overhead,
volunteers, etc. Projects range from one-on-one adults with troubled
children to a statewide plan to reduce teen drinking. (It's working!)
I was amazed at the reports from both these funds and am excited about the
obvious spirit and commitment. With people like this on our side we will
make changes in stubborn problems.
It is regrettable that the present proposal is to cut back on both these
areas, to save money. That is yet to be decided.
Small humor to end with. Very small. One fiscal auditor was going over an
agency's performance with our Appropriations Comm. and said the last figure
was simply a collection of items which were too small to list separately.
She had gone over each and they were O.K. She said, "It is $100 here and
$200 there." One of our group said he did not understand why "there" got
more than "here." It struck a chord at the end of another day of endless
comparisons of $$$ and programs.
Pray for spring rains,
Lowen
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