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20th District lawmaker works to keep responsible
budget intact
Rep. Gary
Alexander,
R-Olympia, said two supplemental budgets released this week in the state
House and Senate illustrate a stark difference in budget approaches.
Alexander, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee and is
ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee, said the House
Democrat spending plan deviates from the fiscally responsible approach
that lawmakers agreed to less than a year ago.
Last session, the Legislature adopted a bipartisan two-year operating
budget that closed a $2.7 billion shortfall without general fund tax
increases. Lawmakers are working on a supplemental budget this year to
make adjustments for emergencies and unforeseen costs, such as increased
school enrollment and prison populations. But Alexander said the
supplemental budget proposed Monday by House Democrats spends reserves
down to dangerous levels and puts taxpayers at risk.
“Everybody here knows
we’re facing a significant budget shortfall in the next three years,”
said Alexander, R-Olympia. “The revenue forecast released last week
showed a very slight improvement in the amount of revenue we expect to
have this biennium. But instead of using that as a starting point for
creating a sustainable budget and preventing future tax increases, the
Democrat supplemental spending plan puts us right back into a billion
dollar hole.”
The House Democrat
spending plan leaves an ending balance of just $199 million in the state
general fund. With 16 months left in the budget period, Alexander said
it is an insufficient reserve deal with emergencies and other unforeseen
costs over the remainder of the budget period. Even more disconcerting,
he noted, is that the House Democrat plan would leave the state with a
$1 billion shortfall in the next biennium.
“It’s a shortsighted budget that ignores the budget challenge facing us
beyond this year,” Said Alexander. “We do not have the money to support
this level of spending. It will force us to make drastic cuts to core
services or raise taxes at a time when families and employers can least
afford it. The looming tax burden is bas medicine for taxpayers and for
our state’s economy.”
Despite Republican objections, the Democrat budget plan was passed out
of the House Appropriations Committee today. It is scheduled for a vote
on the floor of the House late Wednesday.
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For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Public
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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