Senate Leadership
President Pro Tempore Donald Williams & Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney
November 12, 2008
Williams Says Massive Budget Deficits Require Unprecedented Level of Bi-Partisanship
Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) offers statement and outlines goals:
“Connecticut faces a budget crisis, just like many families across the state, and we must work together to solve it. No party or person has a monopoly on good ideas. Gov. Rell asked for the help of Democrats in the legislature today — and she’s got it. We will keep working with her to balance the current budget deficit and then turn our full attention to the next two fiscal years. Going forward it is essential that we do the following:
- Cut spending — this means expediting audits of key agencies, like DSS.
- Manage projects more effectively — this means reigning in out-of-control projects such as the New Haven Rail Yard.
- Put politics aside — Gov. Rell took up the Senate Democrats’ tax amnesty plan to help close the current budget deficit and we taking up many of her proposals during special later this month.
- Get creative — We must look for savings in places we haven’t looked before. Are there agencies that can be merged to save money and increase effectiveness? We are currently reviewing options.
- Don’t pass the buck — We should avoid making reckless cuts that just shift the burden to ‘other’ taxpayers: gutting municipal aid would simply cause property taxes to increase.
- Aggressively seek help from Washington — We must engage our congressional delegation and encourage them to pass a stimulus package that will help Connecticut mitigate the effects of budget cuts.”
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Senator Williams’ Derek Slap |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Derek Slap |
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