Senate GOP leader rips Inslee‘s budget-cuts exercise as ‘fear mongering’
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/06/23/3258308/senate-gop-leader-rips-inslees.html?sp=/99/296/
Senate GOP leader rips Inslees budget-cuts exercise as fear mongering
By Brad Shannon
Staff writer
June 23, 2014 Updated 11 hours ago
Budget writers reached a bipartisan agreement on both the two-year operating budget in 2013 and again on a supplemental operating budget this year. Now its election season, and it appears the gloves are already coming off. This time its over Gov. Jay Inslees budget exercises, which are meant to create some flexibility for his next biennial budget in December.
Its Jay Inslee fear mongering. The scenario (for cuts) really doesnt exist with the four-year balanced budget and revenue forecast, Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler of Ritzville said late last week. But its great fear mongering by the governor. He told us Lean management and the secret sauce would take care of all of this problem with budget shortfalls.
Inslees budget office is asking state agencies to identify up to 15 percent in spending cuts for programs not protected from cuts. Funding for K-12 schools is protected to a large degree by the state Constitution, debt payments must be made, and some Medicaid benefits for the poor are mandated by the federal government.
Inslees budget director David Schumacher says the scenario for cuts does exist. That is because carry-forward costs of government will exceed expected revenues by roughly $700 million to $1 billion, despite the four-year balanced budget rule. And that does not include the money needed for K-12 schools to satisfy the state Supreme Courts order in the McCleary case.