Saud Anwar

Senator Anwar: ‘This Budget Does Not Meet the Moment’

Today, responding to Governor Ned Lamont’s release of a biennial budget proposal for the 2021-22 fiscal period, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) released the following statement:

“The budget proposal that has been presented by the Governor’s team does not meet the moment,” Sen. Anwar said. “It ignores the clear and immediate needs of many vulnerable people in our state. We are living in unprecedented times, living in a once-in-a-century event that has killed more than 7,200 people in our communities. We hear of more every day, and for many who have died, I am taking care of many of them. They are real people.

Unemployment is now higher than in the 1930s, with some 200,000 workers without jobs, the majority of them women. We have higher numbers of people at risk of becoming homeless. We have pressing health care, education, higher education, housing and small business protection needs. This is the time for recovery planning, to invest in the people of our state so we can come back. Our education is underfunded; some industries will not return to pre-pandemic levels, and we need new training and development for those workers.

We also need to recognize health-equity challenges before the pandemic were among the highest in the country and the pandemic has only further shown this disparity is further impacting residents of our state, and it may become a scar for them forever. Asset-limited, income-restrained employed are increasing rapidly in the pandemic, and who will speak for them?

This is not a time for the status quo; this is a time for transformative leadership. If we do not effectively intervene, history will judge us harshly. I know many of my colleagues and I are ready for a conversation making sure no one in Connecticut is left behind. This budget would leave many of them behind.”