House Republican leaders are balking at about $200 million in budget increases approved by the Senate on June 1, saying the higher spending is unlikely to garner approval among representatives.
“I think it will widen the gap between the House and Senate,” Speaker Pro Tem Bob Robson, R-20, said.
On May 25, the House approved a $9.9 billion budget. The Senate had been expected to act on the same budget proposal simultaneously, but ended up only approving a $500 million tax cut plan — about twice the amount approved by the House — presumably because there was not enough support among Republicans for the entire budget.
At press time June 1, the Senate was poised to debate the bills on the floor and vote on them.
House Commerce Committee Chairman Michele Reagan, R-8, was more direct in her assessment of what the additional spending will do to support of the budget in the House.
“Once a budget goes over $10 billion, how many votes are you going to lose?” she wondered.
Several budget provisions, including the general appropriations bill, which accounts for the bulk of the spending for state government operations, narrowly passed the House. The budget already spends too much, say some fiscal conservatives.
“My complaint,” said Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-22, “is that we continue to go above and beyond those services government should be providing and government has become a source of first resort. We have gone from being a reasonable government to being a bloated government that is insatiable for taxpayer money.”
A number of other House members who supported the budget, despite concerns over the spending, may change their positions in the face of the additional spending supported by the Senate, even if the Senate plan includes bigger tax cuts, Mr. Robson said.
Rep. John Allen, R-11, said he could no longer support the budget because of the Senate amendments.
“We sent over a gigantic budget that they threw pork on,” he said. “It’s discouraging.”
Rep. Russell Pearce, one of the House’s two appropriations committee chairmen, said he, too, could not support the Senate budget. He said he had a difficult time supporting the May 25 budget approved by the House and the changes made by the other chamber go too far.
“As a Republican, I’m embarrassed we would take this taxpayer money and spend it so frivolously,” the District 18 Republican said.
House work: Constant involvement
Members of House leadership were caught unaware when the Senate didn’t vote on the budget May 25.
“Frankly, I was surprised the Senate wasn’t moving forward…as we were,” House Majority Whip Gary Pierce, R-19, said.
Mr. Pierce credited the constant involvement of House Republicans in the budget process with that body’s ability to move quickly on the budget proposal.
“I think we stayed real close to our caucus on what was important to them,” he said. “We ended up there and we just assumed… [the Senate] had their caucus together, too.
“I’m sure the Senate ran into unforeseen problems.”
In order to curry favor in the House, budget leaders there shifted some funds around before the bill came up for a floor vote to spend more on education and state universities, as well as slightly increasing tax cuts. The changes provided an extra $41 million for K-12 education and $20 million for the universities without increasing overall spending.
In turn, the Senate made significant changes to the House budget in order to garner support, including reducing the amount of money spent on K-12 education and giving all three state universities the ability to finance new construction. The Senate also altered the funding mechanism for full-day kindergarten.
House says Senate budget has $27 million structural deficit
Additionally, the Senate budget includes $250 million of new revenues, which the House Republican leadership doesn’t accept.
Leaders in the House say the Senate budget has a structural deficit of about $27 million.
Despite the differences, House Majority Leader Steve Tully, R-11, is optimistic the two sides will be able to come to an agreement soon.
“If we work out tax, we work out education, [then] we knock a few warts off and we’ll get it done,” he said.