Keep This Budget Lower Than Last Year's

Governor Urged To Stick To His Guns And Resist Pressure To Increase Spending

Senator's Anthony Bucco and Steve Oroho members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee issued the following statement urging Governor Jon Corzine to refuse to give in to pressure from Legislative Democrats and keep state spending lower than last year:

"Governor Corzine must stand firm in the face of any pressure to increase overall spending in the Fiscal Year 2009 budget. The fiscal problems the state is facing will only be aggravated by New Jersey's softening economy. The governor must live up to the promise he made to the people of this state during his State of the State address and: 'Freeze Spending Now.'

"At times we have not agreed with the priorities the governor set forth in his budget proposal and we have proposed restoring some of his cuts. However, every time we proposed restoring one program, we have recommended a cut of equal or greater value.

"Let us be clear, tax or fee increases are not an acceptable way to balance this budget. The governor should reject outright any attempt to slip a tax or fee increase into the budget document at the eleventh hour."