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Budget leader calls for
truth in budgeting from governor’s proposal
Rep. Gary
Alexander
doesn’t expect Tuesday's public unveiling of Gov. Christine Gregoire’s
supplemental budget proposal to answer the key question: whether she is
serious about holding the line on new spending.
“It remains to be seen
whether the governor will stick to her pledge to adopt a responsible,
‘frugal’ budget. Is she ready to go up against members of her own party
to fight for her budget priorities, especially her stated desire to
resist spending on new programs? Will what she says in December match
the budget the taxpayers see in March? It’s time for truth in
budgeting,” said Alexander, R-Olympia, who is budget leader for House
Republicans.
“The governor’s budget is not binding, but if what we saw in 2005 is an
example, look out. She said her own budget proposal was unsustainable.
However, that didn’t stop her from joining with the House and Senate
Democrats to enact a budget that contained even more spending and tax
increases than she’d proposed. Is that the kind of fiscal backbone we
can expect in 2006?”
Gregoire’s recent claim
that the budget she signed in 2005 was aimed at improving the state’s
business climate is cause for concern, Alexander said.
“She endorsed taking more
than $400 million out of the economy through tax increases, and
increasing government spending by 12 percent. Since when does that
create a competitive business climate and help preserve and create
jobs?”
Gregoire has been
campaigning for her supplemental budget around the state, trying to
create the perception that she’s being responsible and accountable – but
leaving some important questions unanswered, Alexander noted.
“When are we going to see
the Priorities of Government model used to determine where our real
priorities are?” he asked.
Alexander agrees the state
pension system needs an infusion, but said Gregoire’s timing is off.
“It’s good that the
governor now seems concerned about investing in the pension system,”
Alexander said, “but where was her concern earlier this year, when she
signed a budget with over a billion dollars in new policy additions? Did
the desire for short-term political gain get in the way of sound,
long-term fiscal policy?”
Alexander believes
supplemental budgets are meant to address unanticipated, unmanageable
changes in entitlement program workloads or caseloads, like school
enrollments or prison populations; technical errors in an appropriation;
real emergencies; or an opportunity that will not be available the
following biennium.
“The governor’s budget
should meet those standards. I also hope, as the state’s chief
executive, that she offers a frank and complete explanation of how these
issues – like the pension question – will be handled better in this
budget than before.”
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For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Public
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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