Rep. Travis Couture responds to Gov. Ferguson’s statements on state budget

Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, the House Republican budget lead, issued the following statement in response to Gov. Ferguson’s comments on the state budget:

“We appreciate Gov. Ferguson pointing out what Republicans have been highlighting for a long time now: that we have unsustainable budget practices, reckless spending, and misplaced government priorities.

“The governor made clear that he will only sign a budget based on reality and will not support the continued practice of assuming fantasy revenues of up to 4.5% growth that never materialize. He added that he would only sign a budget that does not raid the Rainy-Day Fund, minimizes new investments, includes all efficiencies and feasible cuts, and does not include a constitutionally questionable tax on unrealized capital gains, such as a wealth tax.

“This is good news. For years, Republicans have been discouraged that Democrats blew the state’s $15 billion surplus, wasted all of that money on new programs and expanding programs with one-time dollars, much like one-time COVID dollars, and raided the Rainy-Day Fund multiple sessions in a row in order to recklessly increase spending levels based upon money that we never had with revenue assumptions that were not based in reality.

“This budget is a house of cards built on a pile of sand. Without the revenue assumptions from a faulty wealth tax, the entire budget falls apart, and what remains are taxes on the backs of hardworking Washingtonians.

“This is the fourth session in a row that Democrats have proposed to spend more than we take in.

“The governor raised concerns about the threat to federal dollars coming into the state. Those are only concerns due to the fiscal irresponsibility of our state and a majority party that has budgeted so recklessly that we have left ourselves dependent on another government and another administration. We should never be dependent upon another government. We should not have raided our Rainy-Day fund session after session. We should have had a strategic reserve and not blown through our surplus a handful of years ago, and maybe this wouldn’t be as painful as it is now. Hopefully, now, we have learned that lesson.

“We should have meaningful protections for taxpayers and meaningful limits on spending. We should conduct performance audits of every dollar spent. We should have priorities in government. We should implement zero-based budgeting with our state agencies to ensure that we’re actually getting results for what Washingtonians invest their tax dollars in.”

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Washington State House Republican Communications
houserepublicans.wa.gov