Despite a $1.9 billion budget surplus, the House Republicans’ health and human services bill cuts health care for working Minnesotans, families and children. The depths to which Republicans will sink in order to provide their massive tax breaks to corporate special interests is truly stunning.

Republicans are underfunding our children and forcing teacher layoffs. They are forcing tuition hikes at our public colleges and universities. Now, they are throwing working Minnesotans off their health care, making it harder for families to afford child care, and they are doing next to nothing to make sure our child protection system is actually protecting kids. With a $2 billion surplus, it is outrageous that Republicans would leave behind working families and children.

As we feared, the House Republicans are also using massive shifts and gimmicks within the health and human services budget. To claim to pay for services using made-up money is perpetrating a massive fraud on seniors and the disabled. This is the kind of smoke-and-mirrors budgeting that led to a government shutdown in 2011. It’s not serious budgeting, it’s the wrong priorities for Minnesota’s future, and it shows the Republicans are not ready to govern.

The saddest part about the Republican budget is they are continuing to miss a golden opportunity to set Minnesota on a path to greater prosperity in the future. We have the chance to improve access to child care for Minnesota families, improve care of our seniors and the most vulnerable, and we can do it without cutting health care for working families and children, while maintaining an honestly balanced budget.

Minnesotans deserve so much better. And they could get it if only Republicans would set aside their central desire to cut taxes for corporate special interests.

balancing budget on back of the middle class · budget surplus · Leader Thissen · Paul Thissen · shifts and gimmicks · underfunding education

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