St. Paul, Minnesota — Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, and House Ways & Means Chair Rena Moran released the following statements on the budget targets released by Senate Republicans today:
“The proposed Senate Republican budget targets are woefully inadequate," said Speaker Hortman. "They fail to provide an inflationary increase in E-12 and would result in cuts in services to our students at a time when students need more help than ever. They would decrease our state's commitment to agriculture and rural development, when that area of our state budget is already disproportionately small compared to the impact agriculture has on our state economy, and Republican Senators would decrease our commitment to housing and to veterans at a time of surplus. Minnesotans deserve a budget that will help them recover from COVID-19, and the Senate Republican budget fails them.”
“House DFLers are determined to help workers, families, and small businesses emerge stronger from this pandemic,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “At a time when it has never been harder for workers and families to get ahead, Senate Republicans are telling Minnesotans that big corporations and the rich come first. The Senate Republican budget is a slap in the face to the heroes of this pandemic — nurses, first responders, frontline workers, and school employees. House Democrats are going to put our workers, families, and small businesses first, not corporations that have done extremely well during the pandemic.”
“Instead of investing in the tools Minnesotans need to rebound from this crisis, Senate Republicans have presented more of the same with their budget targets. They are putting the very wealthiest among us and big corporations ahead of the Minnesotans who are counting on us to help them overcome their struggles and challenges,” said Rep. Rena Moran, Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means. “We will only emerge from the pandemic stronger by delivering the investments Minnesotans deserve, no matter where they live or what they look like. While the Senate Republican budget ignores these key values, House DFLers are fully committed to helping all Minnesotans succeed and thrive.”