Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin) today released the following statements regarding Republican calls for mid-year budget adjustments:
“Responsible governing is about defining priorities and moving resolutely to address them. We offered to continue to meet in order to bridge the gap. The Republicans instead chose to hold a press conference and play politics as usual, much as they did last week on the pension refinance bill. Rather than rushing into a press conference without details or consensus, we intend to meet with the members of our caucus on Wednesday to discuss the issue in hope to move from there to a bipartisan consensus.” — Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven)
“It’s potentially a workable idea, but the details still need to be fully assessed. With the current budget year in balance, making a minor adjustment to avoid these cuts is certainly worth looking at. We offered to sit down to go over their proposal, but were told an announcement was already set. I’m still willing to meet and govern together.” — Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin)