Washington state Rep. Travis Couture said in a news release that majority Democrats just passed one of the most reckless budgets in state history and did it while shutting out the voices of nearly half the state.
House Democrats approved a more than $80 billion operating budget that increases government spending, cuts services people depend on, and gambles on legally questionable revenue schemes, Couture stated in the release.
Couture, R-Allyn, the House Republican budget leader, said the plan explodes spending while relying on unstable decisions that could quickly blow up the state's finances.
"This budget is economic arson," Couture said. "Democrats refuse to stop spending. They are feeding government while families are struggling to afford groceries, gas, housing, insurance and child care. This budget makes Washington less affordable."
The budget assumes billions in new taxes from policies that are anything but certain, according to the release, including a state income tax expected to raise $2.1 billion and a $4 billion raid on the Police and Firefighters LEOFF 1 pension.
"When both of those illegal schemes collapse, this budget falls apart and leaves us with billions in deficits," Couture said. "They are gambling with the state's finances."
To make the numbers work, Democrats also drained roughly $880 million from reserves and shifted money from accounts intended for other purposes, the release stated.
At the same time, Couture said the budget includes significant cuts to programs families rely on. Massive cuts to Medicaid funding will put pressure on hospitals and patients, he said. Cuts to schools decimate education, placing K-12 at the lowest priority since 2011, he claimed.
Instead of cutting waste, according to Couture, Democrats cut:
• More than $1 billion in combined Medicaid funding
• $250 million from K-12 schools, particularly in rural and low-income school districts
• $124 million from child care
• $31 million from nursing homes and assisted living
"This budget hits rural communities first and hardest," Couture said. "Small towns are already fighting to keep schools open, keep hospitals running, and keep basic services alive. Democrats in Olympia decided those communities were the easiest place to cut."
Couture said the majority's priorities are backwards.
"They found money for more government bureaucracy, more spending, and more taxes," he said. "But when it came time to protect classrooms, health care and public safety, Democrats chose special interests and bigger government."
He also stated the spending plan continues a pattern of massive growth in government while doing nothing to address the affordability crisis facing families across the state.
"People cannot afford to live in Washington anymore," Couture said. "After $80 billion in spending, nothing got cheaper. Not housing. Not food. Not gas. Not child care. Not groceries. Nothing."
He said the budget process is just as bad.
"This is what happens when one party runs everything and doesn't have to listen to anyone else," Couture said. "Three million Washingtonians didn't get a seat at the table in this budget, and rural Washington just got handed the bill."
