Just like Montana families, the state of Montana has to live within its means. We have to look carefully at all expenditures we make in tough economic times.
We weren’t surprised to read that Republican leaders – Sens. Bob Story, John Esp and Dan McGee – wanted to spend more money. After all, it was the Senate Republicans that seemed eager to go on a spending spree during the legislative session. One example of their spending spree included a $600,000 taxpayer bailout for Swank Enterprises, a private corporation, while cutting the funding for the school for the deaf and blind.
These legislators went on to accuse Governor Schweitzer and Democrats of being fiscally responsible. We demanded that we keep Montana’s savings account from being depleted in the event of a further economic downturn. Cautiously saving money for the future? Guilty as charged.
Montana is one of a handful of states that does not have a budget deficit, and the reason is good fiscal management by Democrats in the Legislature and the governor’s office. In Montana, we know that for every good year there may be a few that are not so good. So we agreed with Governor Schweitzer when he insisted on holding the line on spending and protecting taxpayers.
Interestingly enough, these same Republicans – Sens. Esp and McGee – voted against the state of Montana even accepting the American Recovery and Reinvestment funding that is now putting thousands of Montanans to work. Let’s be clear: They voted against HJ33 to accept both the $880 million in funding and the accountability and transparency that went along with it. They said, “Return to sender.” Now they are complaining that not enough of the funding went to pet projects within their districts. They are obviously getting their cues from their party’s members of Congress. They’re certainly starting to behave like them.
We stand by fiscally conservative management of our state. There are good reasons for the governor’s line-item vetoes in House Bill 645:
Welcome Home Loan Program – This program would have benefited lending institutions by shifting all the risk of home loans to the state and to you the taxpayer, not to help first time homebuyers as Republicans would lead you to believe. The state already has a program to assist first-time homebuyers.
Meth Watch – The Montana Meth Project is a private undertaking that received seed money last legislative session. Even though it was supposed to become self-sufficient by now, this session it was again funded at the level originally proposed.
Agriculture Experiment Stations – The $2 million vetoed were funds allocated for additional equipment replacement, over and above the $25 million that was already approved for agricultural experiment stations. Agriculture and agricultural research have been Governor Schweitzer’s livelihood and background. He knows how critical agriculture is to the state’s economy. But during a tough budget cycle, all of us share in the belt-tightening.
This session showed many great successes. About $880 million is making its way to main street Montana, and it is estimated that more than 11,000 jobs will be created or saved as a result. It is too bad that Republican leaders are opposed to saving for tomorrow. We know tough times can follow, and we can tell you, we are proud to have invested in Montana’s highest priorities and still have money in the bank.
Carol Williams is the Senate minority leader and Bob Bergren is speaker of the House at the Montana Legislature. Both are Democrats.