SWEENEY STATEMENT ON APPROVAL OF FY 2010 BUDGET

TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, issued the following statement today regarding the Senate approval of the FY 2010 Budget, by a vote of 22-17:

“On Monday, when the Budget Committee passed the FY 2010 spending plan, I was quoted as saying – in some cases, out of context – that this budget stinks.

“Unfortunately, that’s a side-effect of the politically-charged environment that we live in. Honest admissions and plain talk can sometimes be misconstrued and warped to serve a political point.

VITALE STATEMENT FOR FACES OF THE UNINSURED PHOTO EXHIBIT

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement today regarding a photo exhibit held in the Statehouse which he sponsored along with Catholic Health East-New Jersey to highlight continued support for health care programs in the FY 2010 Budget:

“Recognizing that the State faces a historic crisis in revenues, I understand that many valuable programs cannot be funded at the level they were last year. But when it comes to the programs people depend on to have access to high-quality health care, I and other health care advocates remain hopeful that some of these funding cuts will be blunted, and that we can continue to provide care for those in greatest need.

SWEENEY STATEMENT ON AGREEMENT ON WAGE FREEZE AND FURLOUGHS

Senate Majority Leaders Applauds Corzine Administration for Saving Taxpayers Money, Negotiating Give-Backs

TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, issued the following statement today on Governor Corzine’s announced agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) for wage freezes and 10 unpaid furlough days in the fiscal year beginning July 1:

“This agreement is good news for the State of New Jersey at a time when we can use all the good news we can get. Our economy is suffering due to the national recession, our State revenues are lagging behind even the most conservative estimates put forth earlier in the year, and our unemployment figures are through the roof. In a few weeks, I and my colleagues in the State Legislature are going to have to advance a balanced “Doomsday Budget” for FY 2010 that slashes State spending to the bone.

“It’s about time something went right for the taxpayers of our beleaguered State.

VITALE STATEMENT ON HEALTH CARE CUTS IN FY 2010 BUDGET

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement today at a news conference at the Statehouse with New Jersey Citizen Action on proposed cuts to health care programs like NJ FamilyCare, Medicaid prescription drug benefits, and the AIDS Drug Distribution Program in the FY 2010 Budget:

“New Jersey government is facing one of the biggest challenges in modern history in advancing a fair and balanced budget in the face of a multi-billion dollar deficit in revenues. Our convictions are going to be tested, as we come to terms with the fact that we simply don’t have enough money to fund all of the State’s priorities at the level that we have in the past.

“However, certain funding requests are more than just line items in a budget. These are programs that mean the difference between life and death for those struggling to make ends meet in this difficult economy.

SARLO STATEMENT ON FY 2010 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION BUDGET

TRENTON – Senator Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic, and Vice Chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the Committee’s hearing on the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Budget for FY 2010:

“In the past few years, the DEP has established a number of programs – including permit extension and the licensed site remediation professional program – to make the State’s business climate friendlier without jeopardizing environmental quality. Particularly in this current economy, such actions to encourage business investment and speed up environmental clean-up of contaminated sites represent a welcome and needed culture change at the Department.

BUONO STATEMENT ON REVENUE ESTIMATES AND BUDGET OVERVIEW HEARING

Committee Meeting Underscores Dire State Of New Jersey Economy

TRENTON – Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, Chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following remarks today at the Committee’s hearing on Office of Legislative Services (OLS) revenue estimates and Treasurer David Rousseau’s overview of the FY 2010 Budget:

“Welcome to the first of a series of budget hearings this Committee will conduct to carefully scrutinize the details of Governor Corzine’s proposed budget for FY 2010. As with every budget proposal, it is a ‘work in progress’ and there are elements that elicit praise and others criticism. But I think it is accurate to say that not one of us has ever been asked to consider a budget under such dire conditions.

BUONO RESPONSE TO GOP PRESS RELEASE ON BUDGET

As Members Tout Willingness to Work with Administration, Press Release Seeks to Score Political Points

TRENTON – Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, Chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement in response to a press release from the Republican members of the Budget Committee which she characterized as “an unfortunate attempt to politicize an historic economic crisis”:

“While my Republican colleagues on the Budget Committee pledged in committee to work in a bi-partisan fashion to overcome New Jersey’s pressing economic problems, they were busily distributing a run-of –the-mill partisan press release directly referencing the Governor’s campaign for re-election.

PREVIEW - SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE TO MEET ON MONDAY

Panel Will Get Revenue Forecast, Hear From State Treasurer

TRENTON – On Monday, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing to begin reviewing and analyzing issues related to projected revenues needed to support Governor Corzine's proposed FY 2010 Budget.

The Committee is scheduled to begin its meeting at 10:00 AM in Committee Room 4 on the first floor of the State House Annex in Trenton.

“The time has come to confront the reality that dire economic times force us to make some painful choices that under different circumstances would be unthinkable," said Committee Chairwoman, Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex. “The spending plan proposed by Governor Corzine earlier this year attempts to deal with a nearly unprecedented fall-off in revenue by cutting State government deeply in New Jersey. Now, the Legislature must perform its due diligence, scrutinizing every aspect of the Governor’s proposed budget and working with the Administration to craft the best document we can for the people of New Jersey.”

VITALE STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO KEAN CRITICISM ON ARTS FUNDING CUTS

TRENTON – Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, and a member of Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement today in response to criticism from former Governor Tom Kean on Governor Corzine’s proposed cut to arts funding below statutorily-mandated levels:

“The arts are absolutely important. Cultural identity is one of the key measures of a society, and there is no doubt that arts funding is not only a boon to the economy, but also helps encourage students – particularly in struggling urban areas – to achieve their maximum potential.

“However, during this global economic crisis, we have to recognize that New Jersey cannot afford to fund every worthy cause, and must prioritize its funding. Governor Corzine has proposed funding arts at a level that’s roughly $3 million less than last year, while still managing to provide $25 million in funding for projects in the proposed budget. Meanwhile, we’re struggling to fund every state priority, from health care to public safety to education.

BUONO STATEMENT ON PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING AT MONTCLAIR UNIVERSITY

MONTCLAIR UNIVERSITY – Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, and Chairwoman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the public hearing held at Montclair University on Governor Corzine’s proposed FY 2010 Budget:

“Today’s hearing was incredibly useful in getting insight from the people who will be directly impacted by the cuts proposed in the FY 2010 State Budget. While we have a constitutional responsibility to produce a balanced budget, we also have a moral responsibility to produce a fair budget, which does as much as possible to minimize fiscal pain for New Jersey’s residents.