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Hinkle votes against House
budget;
says it would hurt state's economic recovery
Rep.
Bill Hinkle voted against the House’s proposed 2005-07 spending
plan today, which he says represents the largest increase in state
spending in 14 years. Members of the House voted on the budget proposal
late this evening.
“Our state’s economic recovery is just getting underway, and
implementing a state budget that ratchets up spending by 12 percent will
only hurt the people of this state,” Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, said tonight.
“The people of our state have told us loud and clear that they want us
to steer clear of new taxes, and prioritize state spending. This budget
raises taxes, includes more than $2 billion in new spending, and does
not prioritize spending based on citizens’ needs. It takes us in the
wrong direction, and that’s why I voted against it.”
The House budget, a $26.09 billion spending plan, includes a
60-cents-per-pack cigarette tax increase, a resurrection of the estate
tax, and a $2.8 billion increase in new spending – a 12 percent jump. It
also leaves less than 1 percent in the state’s reserves.
One thing that is particularly bad about the budget proposal, Hinkle
explained, is that it draws from one-time sources that are supposed to
be dedicated to paying for specific needs, such as the Health Services
Account that helps low-income families, seniors and children who rely on
the state for health care assistance.
“Pulling money from dedicated funds not only creates an unsustainable
budget, it also hurts people who were supposed to receive the services
those funds provide,” Hinkle noted.
Hinkle also said he believed the House could have brought forward a
budget proposal that did not raise taxes.
“Just two years ago, our state was facing a $2.7 billion budget
shortfall,” Hinkle reminded his fellow lawmakers. “Working together,
under the leadership of Sen. Dino Rossi, we created a budget that forced
government to live within its means and put our state on the road to
economic recovery. That approach helped create jobs, brought prosperity
to families and generated an additional $1.7 billion in revenue for our
state. The approach in the budget we saw tonight was entirely different.
It created a wish list first, then proposed raising taxes to fund that
list. That’s the wrong approach, and why I voted against this
unsustainable budget that spends too much and saves too little.”
# # #
For more information, contact:
John Handy, Assistant
Communications Director - (360) 786-5758
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