Mississippi Department of Mental Health facing $6 million budget cut

House Public Health and Human Services chairman Sam Mims V, R-McComb, explains the necessity of budget cuts for the state's Department of Mental Health Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. The agency received a budget reduction of over $6 million, monies supporters argue are needed due to the federal match they receive. Mims pledged to lawmakers to continue looking for any additional funds for the mental health agency. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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JACKSON, Mississippi -- Several Mississippi House members say they want budget writers to restore more than $6 million that could be cut from the Department of Mental Health for the coming year.

The House and Senate face an early April deadline to agree on a $5.5 billion spending plan for all of state government. Fiscal 2014 begins July 1.

Democratic Rep. Bo Eaton of Taylorsville said Wednesday that people who are mentally ill or mentally disabled don't have high-paid lobbyists working on their behalf, but they need state support.

House Public Health Chairman Sam Mims, a Republican from McComb, says the proposed $6 million cut to mental health would be a 2.8 percent reduction. He says that with limited money, budget writers have to make tough choices.

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