Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr released the following statement today, following the Senate’s passage of its Fiscal Year 2012 budget:
“The last two days have been characterized by the kind of open, fair and vigorous debate that the issues at hand and the citizens of the Commonwealth deserve. Through this process, the Senate has secured some major accomplishments, including pioneering reform of the methods by which municipal health insurance is provided and paid for and a renewed focus on performance-based governing. Important spending priorities such as special education funding and regional school transportation have also found their place in the actions that have occurred during this budget debate. Yet, although there have been some important accomplishments, there have also been a number of significant missed opportunities to provide relief for beleaguered taxpayers struggling with one of our nation’s worst recessions, to contain the cost of health care that is burdening so many households and employers, and to take actions to spur job creation and revenue growth.
While we must necessarily move forward with a spending document for Fiscal Year 2012, at some point we must do so with an understanding that if we continue to remain inactive in terms of economic growth, further reforms, and health care cost containment, the difficult decisions that we have been facing in this budget debate will grow inevitably worse in the days ahead.”
