2:09 MP3 file with Senate Leader Mike Gronstal
“This is Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal.
“Today the Iowa Senate, along with the Iowa House, announced the budget targets for the individual budget subcommittees.
“We have put together a recommended budget that funds our priorities, maintains our commitments, but at the same time is fiscally responsible.
“We put more money in the cash reserve than we ever put before. We’re going to have in our cash reserve and our economic emergency fund $616 million.
“We returned to the Senior Living Trust fund to almost two-thirds, that was spent down to about 7 million dollars and we will be up to $193 million in that fund this year. We’re repaying money that was designed to help senior citizens stay in their own homes.
“So, this is the first step in our budget process. The governor recommended his budget. We put together a budget that’s a little tighter than the Governor’s budget. His budget was 6% growth. Ours is going to spend about 4% more than last year. But we’re doing that to maintain a fiscally sound budget so that we can continue to keep the commitments that we’ve made to middle class families in this state.
“You know, there are some Republicans out there that are criticizing this budget already. On the one hand you hear them saying ‘You’re not spending enough,’ and on the other hand they’re saying ‘You’re spending too much.’
“A fiscally responsible budget means you keep your commitments. It’s how you keep your commitment. The Republicans are out there saying ‘Gee, you’ve got to cut these things. You can’t afford to get teacher pay to 25th in the country. You can’t afford to keep tuitions low at our schools.’
“We’re being fiscally responsible so we can do those things. So we remain committed to that, but at the same time we’ve filled our cash reserve and our economic emergency funds. They are full, the most money they’ve ever had in the history of the State of Iowa, and that’s so in future years we will be able to continue to meet those commitments.”
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