Oregon quietly rejects federal health money: fearing federal strings, Oregon legislators have turned down a $2.2 million CDC grant to battle obesity.

• Author: Esteve, Harry

Word that Oregon had received a $2.2 million federal grant to fight obesity and prevent chronic diseases associated with it was cause for celebration at the state Department of Human Services.

The money, which would be used to promote healthy eating and physical activity, couldn't be more timely. Oregon leads Western states in problem obesity.

But the jubilation didn't last long. The grant was rejected by the Legislative Assembly, which spurned the offer of easy money in favor of a new, more cautious approach to spending taxes, whatever the source.

It's part of a pattern. This year alone, seven federal grants for health programs, worth nearly $15 million, have been rejected by lawmakers.

"Many of us don't happen to share the view that federal money is free," said Representative Randy Miller, co-chairman of the Joint Ways and Means Committee. The committee must grant permission for state agencies to accept such grants, and the duty generally falls to the co-chairmen.

"A federal dollar has the same source as a dollar that's sent to the Oregon Department of Revenue, and that's from a tax-paying citizen," Miller said.

Besides, he said, it doesn't make sense for the government to spend millions of dollars trying to keep people from getting too fat.

"Obesity is a problem, and people need to be more careful with their dieting habits to avoid it," Miller said. "Spending another half million bucks (a year) to avoid it, I'm not sure how useful that is."

State health officials are scratching their heads about the rejections, which they say could have given a boost to efforts to improve health conditions among the low-income, minority and migrant communities, as well as in other areas throughout the state.

State epidemiologist Dr. Melvin Kohn said he thought lawmakers would appreciate the extra dollars at a time when they are struggling through one of the worst budget crises in decades.

"There are no matching funds. It doesn't cost the state anything," Kohn said. When Oregon turns down the money, it simply goes to some other state, he said.

The money would have gone to schools, health care providers, community programs and others that monitor or combat a variety of statewide health problems.

The denials generally were kept quiet. Health officials weren't notified, nor were other Joint Ways and Means Committee members until the issue came up at a budget hearing late last week.

The other Ways and Means co-chairman, Senator Kurt Schrader, said he and...