State Senator Toni Nathaniel Harp
July 30, 2009
Harp Earns Committee Support for New, Sleek Two-Year Spending Proposal
State Senator Toni. N. Harp (D-New Haven), Senate Chair of the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, today presented a revised, trim spending plan for the next two years in an effort to move stalled budget talks forward. Senator Harp said the proposal reduces the amount contained in SB1801, vetoed by the governor, by more than a quarter-billion dollars.
Senator Harp spoke of the difficult balance to be struck between the need to limit government spending during the current, severe recessionary conditions, and the need to maintain programs and services on which state residents rely, and upon which the state’s economic recovery depends.
“The spending blueprint presented today represents a sincere effort to reduce the scope of state government without gutting it beyond repair,” Senator Harp said. “As further evidence of how difficult it is to trim this budget, I was interested to hear Republicans today question these additional cuts in such vitally important areas as economic development and our criminal justice system.”
Senator Harp reminded committee members that as much as two-thirds of the state budget literally cannot be reduced for a variety of reasons, among them, to qualify for federal funds, to comply with contractual obligations, and to maintain truly essential services.
“We heard the call for mergers and consolidations loud and clear, and responded in a bold way to capitalize on this crisis situation and restructure some of the most basic state operations,” Senator Harp said. “We also made dramatic reductions to many of the specialty funds in more than a dozen state agencies, effectively limiting the scope of what they’ll be able to do over the next couple years.”
Senator Harp said she hopes budget negotiations with the governor and her budget officials — interrupted more than a week ago — resume soon, given this new framework for spending. She said she appreciates the governor’s belated acknowledgement of deficit figures the legislature has been working with for six months.
“We’ve taken a major step forward today because for the first time in all this time, the Executive Branch is working to solve the same problem we identified in January, and I believe with all eyes now on the same goal, a resolution can be more readily attained,” Senator Harp added.
|
Senator Harp’s |
Listing of Senator Harp’s recent press releases and a Press Kit with official head shots and bio. |
Press Aide Laurence Grotheer |
