Dems call Assembly GOP budget 'fiscally irresponsible,' 'downright mean'
Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser, D-Kenosha, said today that he was "greatly disappointed" in the Assembly Republicans budget plan.
"I feel a majority of Republicans are looking forward to conference committee, because tomorrow they're just going to hold their noses and vote for this," Kreuser told reporters as Assembly Democrats broke from a briefing with the Legislative Fiscal Bureau this afternoon.
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, withheld comment on the proposal until a news conference planned for tomorrow morning before the chamber heads to the floor to debate the plan, spokesman John Murray said.
Murray said leadership believes Republicans have the 50 votes needed to pass the plan and said the caucus lived up to Huebsch's no tax increase pledge with the budget.
Kreuser said the Republican plan's cut to shared revenue are "fiscally irresponsible," and said the secrecy surrounding the unveiling of the budget "is something Dick Cheney can be proud of."
"It's not something that will provide a bright future for Wisconsin," Kreuser said. "It's cutting many of our core values, education, our universities, human services, it takes a step backward on our environment and passes the buck onto local communities."
Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts, D-Middleton, said the budget plan "does no favors for education," pointing out that it cuts $85 million from general school aids compared to Gov. Jim Doyle's budget, and cuts funding for school safety programs.
She also said cuts to SAGE funding in the GOP proposal will mean "the death of SAGE in Wisconsin," and said school breakfast funding is cut by one-third. "That's just downright mean," she said.
Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said the GOP proposal would be "devestating" to the UW System, and reduce it to mediocrity.
Rep. John Richards, D-Milwaukee, said the document "is remarkably bad for health care," pointing out the elimination of provisions that would expand BadgerCare to provide insurance to uninsured residents.
Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, said the proposal is equally devestating to the state's largest city. "I don't know what these guys have against Milwaukee, but it's pretty drastic," he said. "In some ways, it's deviant genius."
He said the budget plan disregards agreements that were made in the Joint Finance Committee, and said it looks bleak for a budget to be passed any time soon. "I don't know how they intend to get to the final product," Colon said.
Kreuser said he was optimistic that differences could be worked out in conference committee, saying "there are good ideas on both sides. But he accused Republicans of bowing to blog pressure with their proposal.
"The tail's wagging the dog," he said. "Obvioiusly the Boots and Sabres people have controlled their agenda and they think they have to go farther to the right ... We need to compromise and get our job done of passing the state budget."
Listen to the press conference here.
