Senate DFL Mid-Session Update: April 12, 2019 , CD3 DFL

April 12, 2019

Senate Republican budgets fail Minnesota’s children, working families, farmers, and small businesses

With only six weeks left of the 2019 Legislative Session, Senate Republicans have finally released their budget bills. Budgets are a reflection of values, and it is disheartening to realize their budgets will increase income inequity and make deep cuts to programs Minnesotans across the state depend on. Senate DFLers feel dismayed that after 14 weeks of work, Republicans’ extreme and unfair budget bills neither reflect the values of Minnesotans nor provide a clear path toward an orderly end of session.

In the early weeks of the session, there was hope of working together and getting things done when legislators of both parties agreed to pass a number of bills early on that had bipartisan support. This just hasn’t happened. Instead, after 14 weeks of session only a handful of bills have been passed– leaving most of the work of passing a two-year budget, tax conformity, and a number of important policy bills for the last six weeks before adjournment in late May.

When putting together their budgets, committees did not take public testimony on the Governor’s budget. Republican leadership refused to give his budget proposals honest consideration. Instead, committees held sham hearings where they allowed someone to speak on the Governor’s budget details for just a few minutes. This is not good governance or leadership.

Minnesotans have made themselves clear: they want the parties to work together to build the state all Minnesotans deserve, with high-quality education, affordable and accessible health care, and increasing support for working families. The Senate Republican budget ignores these Minnesota values. There are two options: the legislature can focus on the things Minnesotans have said they want and invest in education, health care, and community prosperity, or legislators can take the Senate Republican path and refuse to work together to build the state Minnesotans deserve.

Although the Senate DFL is disappointed in where the legislature is at this point in the session, with decreased investments for working families, small businesses, and farmers, Senate DFL members remain hopeful these budgets will get better. There is still time to find compromise and pass a budget to benefit all Minnesotans without going into a special session. Right now, the differences seem insurmountable with the extreme position the Senate has taken with its budget in comparison to the Governor and the House. Minnesotans need legislation that levels the playing field for working families, farmers, small businesses, and senior citizens.

There is a lot of work to do in the last six weeks, and the Senate DFL is committed to supporting a budget that benefits all Minnesotans.