Capitol Update – January 28

When lawmakers returned to Capitol this January we came back with an obligation to respond to pleading from Iowans to take our role as fiscal stewards seriously.  This challenge is what should motivate us to make responsible budget decisions, because the reality is that talking about these expectations is not enough, we must prove to Iowans that we can be trusted to put them first.

A big part of this challenge is my commitment that I will not support a budget that spends more than it collects in revenue.

Governor Branstad presented his Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Budget to the Legislature in a joint meeting on Thursday, Jan. 27. The Iowa Constitution requires the Governor to propose a budget and then the Legislature approves the budget through the regular legislative process.

I was encouraged to hear that the Governor agrees with House Republicans’ commitment to stop the unsustainable growth in the size and cost of government.

The Governor promised to cut the state budget and focus on creating jobs.  Voters were clear this fall that they want budget accountability and I consider this an opportunity to keep our promise to end the recent trend of spending beyond our means.

Governor Branstad’s proposal cuts state agency spending by 6 percent and does not propose any funding for the salary increases pushed through by Governor Culver in the final days of his administration.  For agencies to fund these pay raises, they will have to find the money from within their existing operations budget.  It is my hope that our public employees will return to the bargaining table, to help us fix our budget mess.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee I am eager to get to work on implementing cuts like the ones in Governor Branstad’s proposal.  House Republicans will lead the charge to bring about this change to legislative thinking about government spending.