Issue Position: Specific Cuts

Issue Position

Taxpayers deserve specific budget cut ideas. We will introduce a bill to eliminate Washington lobbyists, sell off some or all of the 10 unneeded state airplanes, eliminate phantom FTE positions that are never filled (currently these dollars are labeled "salary salvage" and end up funding other unappropriated items). We also support a total suspension of legislative out-of-state travel and a reduction in state legislative salaries in the spirit of shared sacrifice. We will work with our Republican colleagues to find other savings, but we must be careful that we don't pass the costs of essential services onto local units of government and masquerade such actions as "cuts." If program cuts are not enough to balance the state's books, we will seek a modified across-the-board budget cut.

Source