(Doug, thanks for fighting for this one. Jack – promoted by Jack McCullough)
GMDers – thanks for the calls – Doug
MONTPELIER, VT – Senator Doug Racine (D-Chittenden) today offered an amendment to the budget bill on the Senate floor. Racine’s amendment proposed to use some of the state’s “rainy day funds” to fill the hole that exists in the budget as proposed to the Senate. On the floor, Senator Tim Ashe (P-Chittenden) proposed a slight change to the proposal – so the amendment as offered stipulated that if “Challenges for Change” did not result in the needed $38 million in savings for FY11, any remaining budget gap would be filled with the reserve funds.
“Let’s put this money into the budget, continue with the Challenges process, but make sure the expenses are covered and pass a responsible budget,” Racine urged.
He explained his reason for offering the amendment by saying, “I have heard two different stories about how Challenges for Change is going to work. The first story is that we are going to find these savings before we go home, and it will all be worked out. I don’t believe that will happen.
“The second story is that we’re going to walk out of here having faith that the process will get us where we want to go. That would be abdicating our responsibility,” Racine insisted. “The fact is, the budget in front of us is not balanced, and it is our responsibility to pass a balanced budget. This amendment would get us there.”
The budget that was presented assumes an additional $38 million in savings from the Challenges for Change process, which will continue at least through the rest of the week, and possibly longer. “This budget has the potential to do serious damage to Vermont by cutting services for our most vulnerable neighbors, reducing funds to economic development programs, and shifting corrections costs to local communities.”
In addition to Racine and Ashe, nine other senators voted to support the amendment – not enough for it to pass. Joining the two in supporting the bill were Senators Cummings, Hartwell, Illuzzi, Kittell, MacDonald, McCormack, Starr, and White.
Racine later voted against the budget on the Senate floor, explaining his final vote by saying, “This budget would have us take the easy way out. I cannot vote for a budget that is not balanced. It is our responsibility to balance the budget, and we are letting Vermonters down by giving that responsibility to the administration.”
The budget will now proceed to a conference committee, and the Senate will work on the Challenges for Change bill in the coming week.
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you voted for fiscal conservation and sanity.
What I find interesting are the protestations that these rainy day funds are for unexpected mid-year exigencies only, but then we simultaneously find out these rainy day funds are being used to insure cash flow for the state and as backing for short term borrowing.
I hereby introduce the word “lie” into this discussion.
If our state level rainy day funds can be drawn down to deal with cash flow or used to guarantee short term borrowing, our state level rainy day funds can be drawn down in case appropriate reductions cannot be found to satisfy the needs of the “Challenges” thingie.
That’s an understatement. We all know what the administration will do if allowed to decide who gets the short end of the stick (hint: not people who can afford it).
And it sure beats throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as Douglas’Challenges agenda effectively would do.