Hartford- House Republican Leader Larry Cafero (R-Norwalk) and Senate Republican Leader John McKinney (R- Fairfield) held a press conference yesterday to call for immediate, bipartisan action to close the FY10 budget deficit which has grown quickly in just one month since the legislature passed a state budget. Today, Representatives T.R. Rowe (R- Trumbull) and Tony Hwang (R- Trumbull, Fairfield) are joining their colleagues in this call to action.
“Over the past year Democrats have been plugging holes in the state budget with band-aids and quick, one-time fixes,” said Rep. Rowe. “They have ignored Republican alternative budgets which avoided tax increases and significantly cut bloated state spending. As we predicted months ago, things have continued to get worse in Connecticut and the deficit has continued to grow. Now is not the time to stick our heads in the sand and hope that the situation magically improves, we must act quickly and decisively if we want to get our state back on track. I hope the Democrats heed our calls and agree to bring the legislature into Special Session as soon as possible to deal with the mounting deficit.”
On October 26 Moody’s Investment Services degraded Connecticut’s bond rating outlook because of too much borrowing to cover the FY 2009 deficit and for FY 2010-11, and tax increases targeting a small sector of our economy. On Monday, Comptroller Nancy Wyman announced the projected deficit will be $624 million this year.
“We are already starting to see the damage done by the poor financial decisions made by the majority in the legislature,” said Rep. Tony Hwang. “By trying to make ends meet by borrowing more than ever, depleting our Rainy Day Fund and stubbornly refusing to make meaningful cuts to government, we have already begun to impact the state’s credit. Taxpayers will start paying more for even less, and that is unacceptable. The majority needs to come to the table prepared to make the kinds of decisions their leadership roles demand of them.”
