Rep. Joe Schmick releases statement on Democrat budget

‘The Democrats punted the problem for taxpayers to deal with down the road,’ says Schmick

Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, released the following statement today regarding the Democrat budget passing the House of Representatives:

“I’m extremely disappointed in this budget.  We didn’t prioritize our spending at all.  We never went through the priorities of government process, and as a result, many people are going to suffer needlessly.

“When I came to Olympia, my three priorities were education, public safety, and protecting the most vulnerable.  This budget does nothing to help these priorities.  In fact, it harms all three without any reforms at all.

“The Democrat budget relies on nearly $5 billion in one-time federal and state money to backfill the last four years of overspending.  But what happens in two years when that money is no longer available?  We’ve done nothing to address the simple fact that we can’t support the bloated size of state government.  We’re setting our state up for an even bigger shortfall the next time we write the budget.

“The Democrats punted the problem for taxpayers to deal with down the road.  They’ve taken the easy way out and I think our hard-working families who are struggling to make ends meet deserve better.”

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For more information, contact: Brendon Wold, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7698

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Washington State House Republican Communications
houserepublicans.wa.gov