Politics & Government

Statement on Republican Budget Proposal

Governor Malloy's Senior Advisor Roy Occiogrosso's statement on the Republican budget proposal.

"The Governor appreciates the time and effort the Republicans put into this document, and appreciates them agreeing that he can achieve $2 billion in savings with state employees. But with all due respect, this budget is not balanced, it relies on fiscal gimmicks, hurts job growth, cuts important funding in education, shreds the safety net and fundamentally undermines clean elections in our state.

"The Republicans’ budget assumes more than $500 million in unidentified savings across state government. The Republicans have had more than two months since the Governor proposed his budget to identify specific savings, but instead have chosen to assign an arbitrary dollar figure to a line-item and call it a cut. They also include a proposal to ‘restructure’ $200 million in debt in FY 2012, which is one-time budget gimmick and a ‘savings’ in name only.  

"This budget also cuts $14.5 million in marketing for DECD to help attract new employers to our state and includes a significant reduction for job training and youth employment programs, both of which stand in direct opposition to the Governor's focus on creating new jobs.

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"The Republicans also reduce funding that will imperil meeting our obligations under the Sheff settlement and cut competitive early childhood slots by 20 percent - disproportionately affecting low-income school districts.

"This budget slashes nearly $900 million in Medicaid and shreds the safety net, which the Governor is committed to protecting.

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"And to top it all off, this budget eliminates the Citizens Election Program, which fundamentally undermines the state’s landmark election reform which lessens the influence of special interests and puts elections back where they belong: in the hands of the people of Connecticut.

"These are exactly the sort of games that helped get us in this mess in the first place. The Governor has said what he's willing to cut and what he's not. They've proposed a budget they know the Governor won't sign. As Governor Malloy has said many times, it’s time for a new, better way forward.  The Republican budget, unfortunately, would take the state down a well-worn, failed path. "


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