The Peru Gazette

            “From its quarter-trillion-dollar price tag to its misplaced priorities and failure to address major outstanding issues like the broken Tier Six pension system and our ongoing public safety crisis, the Senate one-house budget would put New York State in even more dire financial straits than it is currently in.

“A recent comptroller report noted that the high tax-and-spend climate in our state is a major contributor to our outmigration crisis. This plan, would increase taxes by an additional $7 billion and spends a mind-boggling $246.2 billion, $13 billion more than Governor Hochul’s already costly Executive Budget proposal. Not only does this proposal fail to address the root causes of outmigration, it exacerbates the problem and contains many misplaced priorities.

“The Senate plan includes $2.4 billion for illegal immigrant support services, as well as an additional $175 million in health insurance coverage for them. This is funding that belongs to legal, law-abiding taxpayers and would be better off being returned as needed tax relief or towards reforming Tier Six.

“At a time when retail theft is on the rise and public safety remains an urgent concern, the Senate budget would cut nearly $100 million in funding for the state police. It would also advance the governor’s proposal to close up-to five correctional facilities. These measures are just yet another sign of how Senate leadership is failing to take the safety of our communities seriously.

“While the Senate one-house budget proposal addresses some major concerns of mine – namely, raising the Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing homes and hospitals and restoring Foundation Aid for our schools – this is ultimately a plan that contains far more bad than good. That’s why I voted against the Senate’s one-house budget proposal. The Legislature and governor must do a better job of serving the priorities of our hardworking families and small business owners. As we work towards an enacted budget, I urge all parties to exercise fiscal responsibility and do what’s right for all New Yorkers.”