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Hinkle disagrees with majority's message about
House budget
Rep.
Bill Hinkle said that the budget released by House Democrats
today shows a lack of fiscal restraint and uses budget gimmicks to make
it appear that money is being saved in reserve. The House budget would
allocate an additional $1.3 billion from the state’s general fund,
topping the Senate budget by $15 million.
“The majority has seemed to abandon prudent budgeting by not focusing on
the priorities of government,” said Hinkle, R-Cle Elum. “This
budget includes a lot of pork. What’s even more shocking is what I don’t
see in the budget. I don’t see help for seniors. I don’t see help for
the mentally ill. Instead, we are allocating $6.4 million for a botched
state computer system. Where are our priorities?”
The House Democratic budget is the largest spending increase in state
history. According to Republican budget analysts, this House budget will
leave a hole of $600 million to fill next year when it’s time to write
the next biennial operating budget. In addition, the House budget leaves
only $238 million as an ending balance, much lower than the majority
claims they are saving.
“Where is the saving in this budget? How can we spend more than we
generate in revenue?” Hinkle said. “There is a **** ** *******
(censored) with the taxpayers in the way this budget is built. Shifting
money into various accounts isn’t the same as putting it into a
reserve.”
House Republicans claim that the majority’s message of $850 million in
reserve is actually in a savings account. Money has been moved into
special accounts that supposedly won’t be spent. “An allocation is an
allocation,” said Gary Alexander, R-Thurston County, Ranking Republican
on the House Appropriations Committee. “This is an authorization to
spend. The only money that isn’t spoken for is the irresponsibly small
amount they leave for the ending balance.”
“We are trying to keep truth in budgeting by introducing transparency
into the budgeting process,” Hinkle said. “This budget is far from
truthful with the taxpayers of our district.”
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For more information, contact:
John Handy, Assistant
Communications Director - (360) 786-5758
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