Senate Democrats to highlight GOP budget cuts

Posted at 6:14 PM on May 18, 2011 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature, Mark Dayton

Minority Democrats in the Minnesota Senate say they intend to hold a hearing Thursday on the Republican budget plan that's moving through the Legislature. The $33.9 billion plan erases a $5 billion projected budget deficit through spending cuts alone. DFL Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk says the Republican budget has serious implications for the future of the state that the public needs to know about.

"I don't think that the ramifications of this budget, how those cuts are going to affect Minnesota's future, have been vetted well enough," Bakk said. "And I think that's intentional. The Republicans do not want the public to know what the impacts of all of these budget cuts are going to be on Minnesota."

Democrats say they prefer Governor Dayton's proposal to raise income taxes on Minnesota's top earners to erase part of the budget gap. Republicans say they won't increase taxes because it would hurt the economy and cost jobs. The hearing will be held in Room 318 of the State Capitol from 2pm to 5pm.

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